Cops Foil Pre-Dawn Motorcycle Theft, Arrest Two

Two Pennsylvania men tried to flee but in the end were unable to outrun the law after they were allegedly caught in the act of trying to steal a motorcycle at the Avalon Run apartment complex early one morning last week.

The suspects – Justin K. Kerper, 28, of Second Avenue in the Croydon section of Bristol Township, Pa., and Eric J. Dahl, 24, of Farmbrook Drive in Bristol Township’s Levittown section – were arrested after they led police on brief foot chases, according to Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry.

He said Kerper and Dahl were each charged with multiple offenses, including attempted motor vehicle theft, possession of burglary tools and obstruction.

Ubry said police received a call at 4:18 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24, reporting suspicious activity taking place in the area of one of the carports on Town Court North in the Avalon Run complex.

When Officers Andres Mejia and Robert Wagner arrived, Ubry said, they discovered Kerper and Dahl inside the carport trying to move a vehicle, a Mitsubishi, which was in the way of the 2006 Suzuki GSX motorcycle they were allegedly trying to steal. The Mitsubishi had been jacked up by the suspects as part of their effort to move it out of the way, he said.

Kerper and Dahl ran as soon as they saw the officers. Mejia and Wagner gave chase and were soon joined by other officers from Lawrence and West Windsor.

Dahl was quickly apprehended by Mejia and West Windsor Sgt. Robert Fow, while Kerper was caught as he entered a nearby wooded area by Wagner and Sgt. Joseph Lech IV, according to Ubry.