Crime & Safety

Lawrence Police Charge Strycharz With 3 Burglaries

Formal burglary and theft charges were filed on Tuesday by Lawrence Township police against Mark Strycharz, the 28-year-old township man who was arrested last week for alleged heroin possession.

Mark Strycharz, the 28-year-old Lawrence Township man who was arrested last week on drug possession charges and who at that time was identified as a suspect in a recent burglary, has been formally charged with that burglary and two other break-ins, township police spokesman Lt. Charles Edgar confirmed today (Feb. 15).

Edgar said Strycharz, a resident of the 100 block of Michigan Avenue, was charged Tuesday night (Feb. 14) with: burglary in connection with the burglary and theft in connection with the ; and burglary and theft in connection with the  

Strycharz remains in custody at the Mercer County Correction Center in Hopewell Township and detectives are continuing to investigate if he was involved in any other burglaries in the township, according to Edgar.

Find out what's happening in Lawrencevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Michigan Avenue burglary took place while residents of the home were away on vacation. They reported the crime to police after they returned home Dec. 3, 2011, and found that a bathroom window had been pried open and assorted jewelry and prescription medication had been stolen.

The Crabapple Lane break-in was reported at 3:06 p.m. Jan. 24 after a woman returned home after being away about 45-50 minutes to find a rear window broken out and a significant amount of jewelry missing.

Find out what's happening in Lawrencevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Stonicker Drive burglary was reported at 3:13 p.m. Feb. 3 after a resident returned home to find a man walking down the steps from her second floor as she entered the house. The man, who apparently did not steal anything, ran out a rear door and jumped over a fence to get away. The woman told police the burglar was carrying a crowbar-like tool.

Township police caught up with Strycharz last Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 8, near the corner of Roxboro Road and Fieldboro Drive after an officer spotted him walking along Lawrence Road (Route 206) and realized that he – Strycharz – matched in many ways the physical description of the man involved in the Stonicker Drive burglary.

While officers were interviewing Strycharz, they allegedly found him to be in possession of a quantity of heroin and that he had a pry bar tool in a bag he was carrying, Edgar said, adding that Strycharz was arrested at that time on drug charges.

Continuing their investigation, police obtained a search warrant for Strycharz’s home, Edgar said. Upon executing that search warrant, police found additional drugs, he said.

Also found in the house, Edgar said, was evidence that police believed linked Strycharz to the Stonicker Drive burglary. At that time, Strycharz was charged with receiving stolen property, in addition to the drug possession charges, he said.

Additional investigation by detectives led to the filing of the burglary and theft charges against Strycharz Tuesday, he said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.