Man Accused of Trying to Break Into Lawrence Homes Spent Time in Prison for Committing a 2004 Burglary

Terrence C. Vaughn, the 49-year-old Trenton man who has been accused of trying to break into two separate homes in Lawrence Township this year, previously spent nearly four years in state prison following a conviction for burglary.

According to court records and the New Jersey Department of Corrections’ inmate database, Vaughn was indicted in July 2004 for breaking into a residence in Ewing Township on April 19, 2004.

He pleaded guilty to the burglary in November 2004 and was sentenced on Jan. 6, 2006, to a 7-year prison sentence, with a minimum requirement that he serve at least 3½ years. NJDOC records show he was released from South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, on Nov. 14, 2009.   

On Wednesday (April 27) Vaughn was .

According to township police, Vaughn rang the doorbell of the home and, after no one immediately came to the door, he allegedly smashed a window in the garage in an effort to gain entry to the residence. The homeowner, an elderly woman, then came to the door, saw what was going on, and called police.

After searching the area for about an hour, Vaughn was found hiding amid the overgrown grass in a nearby wooded area. He was charged with attempted burglary and also possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.

It was Vaughn’s second run-in with Lawrence Township police this year. .

Vaughn was charged with attempted burglary in connection with the Feb. 22 incident. The circumstances of that arrest were reviewed by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, which eventually downgraded the charge to defiant trespass and sent the matter back to Lawrence Township Municipal Court to handle, according to court records.

Vaughn is scheduled to appear before Lawrence Township Municipal Court Judge Paul Catanese on Wednesday, May 4, in connection with the Feb. 22 defiant trespass charge and also the attempted burglary and drug paraphernalia possession charges that were filed against him following his arrest on April 27.  

Following his arrested this week, Vaughn was lodged in the Mercer County Correction Center in Hopewell Township in lieu of $20,000 full bail on the attempted burglary charge and $7,500 bail – with a 10 percent option – on the paraphernalia charge, according to court officials.

According to NJDOC records, Vaughn has been known to use multiple aliases, including Terrence Gaines, Rosevelt Wyatt and Trevor Wyatt. He also sometimes spells his first name Terrance or Terence.