Burglaries Lawrence Township police recently solved one residential burglary but had to launch a brand new investigation into another break-in after someone kicked in a door and ransacked a White Pines apartment. Lt. Charles Edgar, police spokesman, said Varick Karsten Dillard, 58, was arrested at his apartment on Meriline Avenue about 1:40 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28, and charged with burglary and theft in connection with a break-in that occurred to a home in the 600 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206) on June 30, 2010. About $3,900 worth of computer equipment, other small electronic items and …

Another elderly Lawrence Township resident has been victimized by an elaborate international fraud. The victim, a 71-year-old resident of Kite Court whose name was not released, called township police a little before 9:45 a.m. Monday, Jan. 24, to report that she had lost over $8,000 to a scam. The woman had received information leading her to believe that she was in the running to win a large sweepstakes, but in order to remain eligible for the grand prize she had to send specific amounts of money to Jamaica, according to Lt. Charles Edgar, a police department spokesman. The woman first sent …

The combined efforts of an alert store clerk and a fleet-footed police sergeant led to the arrest of a man who allegedly used fraudulent credit credits to buy thousands of dollars worth of gift cards at Quaker Bridge Mall over the weekend. The suspect, Keith Keene, 54, of New York City, was charged with fraud and several other criminal offenses following his arrest on Saturday and remains in custody at the Mercer County Correction Center in Hopewell Township while Lawrence Township police and agents from the United States Secret Service continue to investigate, according to Lt. Charles Edgar…

A dispute over $10 worth of gas ended up costing an Ocean County man a trip to the police station and $550 in bail earlier this week, Lawrence Township police reported. Mark Ice, 52, of Jackson Township, got into the argument with a gas pump attendant at the QuickChek at the Brunswick Circle a little before 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, after he paid $20 and then allegedly refused to pay the difference for the $30 worth of gas the attendant had put into Ice’s vehicle, according to Lt. Charles Edgar, a police department spokesman. The attendant called police and Officer Robert Wagner was sent …

The theft of $65,000 worth of jewelry from a home on West Long Drive, and another theft of about $30,000 worth of assorted jewelry from a residence on Deer Run are being investigated by Lawrence Township police. “Right now there doesn’t appear to be any connection but detectives will be looking for any similarities between the two crimes,” said Lt. Charles Edgar, police department spokesman. Both crimes were reported to police on Tuesday, Jan. 18, but may have actually occurred many months ago, Edgar said. It was 11:34 a.m. Tuesday when a resident of Deer Run, part of a gated community off …

A man who allegedly groped the buttocks of a woman at the Hooters restaurant in Mercer Mall over the weekend is being sought by Lawrence Township police. Once he is identified and arrested, the alleged groper will likely be charged with criminal sexual contact and harassment, said Lt. Charles Edgar, a police spokesman. The incident took place Saturday night, Jan. 15, at the popular eatery in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1). “It is alleged the suspect – whose identity is unknown at this time – was in the restaurant and became intoxicated and was being rude to various patrons and …

A teenager from Hopewell Township was arrested after he allegedly stole a walkie-talkie belonging to the security force at Quaker Bridge Mall this week, Lawrence Township police said. Lt. Charles Edgar, police spokesman, said Officer Michael Whitmore and Sgt. Chris Longo launched an investigation after they were alerted about 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12, that someone had taken the two-way radio from the information kiosk of the mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1). The mall’s various security cameras were checked and video footage was found that allegedly showed a young man …

Lawrence Township police officers have responded to some unusual calls in recent days… A Hamilton Township man was arrested after he allegedly locked himself in his car and turned up the radio in an unsuccessful effort to ignore officers trying to question him. A Lawrence Township man was arrested after he allegedly threatened another man who was collecting scrap metal. And a Trenton man was arrested after he allegedly started to scream and dance in a store, then refused to leave. (A copy of Lawrence Township's police dispatch log for 12:01 a.m. Friday, Jan. 7,  through midnight Tuesday, Jan…

A man who stopped breathing after allegedly overdosing on heroin, a distraught man who police say tried to jump out the window of a moving car, a woman whose car was broken into, and a man who became so intoxicated he allegedly urinated on the wall of a restaurant dining room were just some of the people Lawrence Township police officers assisted during the hundreds of calls for service they’ve answered in the last 72 hours. Lt. Charles Edgar, a police spokesman, said officers raced to a home in the 700 block of Lake Drive after a 911 call was received at 12:12 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, reporting …

A scam that defrauded an elderly woman of a significant amount of money, a trespassing incident at Lawrence High School, two different incidents involving assaults and several thefts have kept Lawrence Township police busy in recent days.   Lt. Charles Edgar, a police spokesman, released the following details today (Jan. 5) about the incidents. (A copy of Lawrence Township's police dispatch log for 12:01 a.m. Jan. 3, through 8 a.m. today, Jan. 5, 2011, can be downloaded from the PDF box at the right. This log lists all significant calls for service and incidents for which officers filed a …

The year 2011 was barely four hours old when Lawrence Township police discovered that someone had smashed through the front door of the Lucky 7 delicatessen and made off with a "significant" amount of cash, lottery tickets and cigarettes. Hours later on New Year's Day, police learned that someone else had stolen electronic equipment and other property from at least nine vehicles whose owners had left them unlocked on the other side of town. (A copy of Lawrence Township's police dispatch log for 12:01 a.m. Dec. 31, 2010, through 8 a.m. today, Jan. 3, 2011, can be downloaded from the PDF box at…

The armed robbery of a wholesale seafood business on Princeton Avenue, a burglary in which a handgun, cash and jewelry were stolen from a home on Lawrence Road, and the mugging of a female employee at a store at Quaker Bridge Mall are among some of the more recent crimes Lawrence Township police are busy investigating.  Lt. Mark Ubry, a township police spokesman, said the holdup occurred shortly before 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 23, when two men armed with handguns walked into the Crab Trap at 1681 Princeton Ave. and confronted the seafood market’s two employees, demanding cash and ordering …