Man Robbed at Motel, Crab Trap Burglarized Again

Three burglaries and one robbery were reported to Lawrence Township police between late Tuesday morning (Feb. 28) and Thursday afternoon (March 1).

The robbery occurred at the Mount’s Motel in the 2900 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1) and was reported at 2:42 a.m. on Thursday, according to Lt. Charles Edgar, police department spokesman.

The victim, a 27-year-old man from Fairless Hills, Pa., told police that he had gone to the motel accompanied by a female “acquaintance” he knows from Trenton and another woman whom he had never met before, Edgar said. The three had only been in their motel room for a short time when, the victim told police, two men stormed in.

The men assaulted the victim and demanded money, Edgar said. He said the two men took the victim’s wallet – which contained about $20 in cash, as well as his driver’s license, some credit cards and other items – and then fled from the room together with the two women. The four were last seen running north along Brunswick Pike.

The victim suffered minor scrapes and bruises but was not seriously injured during the robbery, Edgar said.

He said the victim told police his assailants were both black, about 17 to 20 years old, thin, about 6 feet tall, wearing dark clothing. The women were both described only as black and about 23 to 25 years old     

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has already been reported in brief, but additional details about the crime have been released.

It was 5:20 p.m. Thursday when police received a 911 call from residents reporting that their home had just been burglarized by two young men, one of whom snatched a purse from a table after sneaking into the home by way of the door from the rear porch, Edgar said. The two men fled after being spotted.

The homeowner’s son ran after the burglar who had stolen the purse, Edgar said. The burglar jumped a fence to get away from the son and was last seen entering the woods surrounding the township’s John Nash Memorial Park on Ohio Avenue.

Edgar said the burglar was described as a black male, 16 to 19 years old, 135 to 150 pounds, about 5 feet 5 to 8 inches tall, wearing a black skull cap, blue jeans and a tan or brown jacket that might have had a hood attached.

In the stolen purse was a wallet containing its owner’s driver’s license, credit cards and other items, he said.  

Lawrence Township police spent several hours searching the area, including the woods of the park, the abandoned Saturn Chemical factory site at the end of New York Avenue and along the Delaware & Raritan Canal. Taking part in the search were police dogs from Lawrence and Trenton. Police also used a thermal imaging camera – a device that can detect body heat – to help look for the burglars in the darkness.

One person who fit the suspect’s description was stopped for questioning while walking in the 2000 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1), Edgar said. While that man was not charged in connection with the break-in, he was arrested because he was found to be wanted in connection with an outstanding warrant, Edgar said.

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At 7:27 a.m. on Thursday, police were notified that another burglary had taken place at the in the 1600 block of Princeton Avenue, Edgar said, noting that the front door of the business had been broken in.

Earlier in the week, on Monday morning (Feb. 27), a passing motorist called police to report that it looked as if the front door of the Crap Trap had been forced open. .

“Small food items” such as bags of potato chips were stolen during both burglaries, according to Edgar. An estimated value for the stolen food was not available.

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At 11:49 a.m. on Tuesday, a 68-year-old resident of the 600 block of Rosedale Road notified police that a man whom he did not know had entered his open garage and stolen a box containing a dozen compact discs valued at about $100, Edgar said. He said the man told police the crime had happened the day before, Monday, about 1:50 p.m., and was witnessed by his wife, who was home at the time.

The man’s wife described the burglar as white, with brown hair, wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, Edgar said, adding that the man had fled in a gray pickup truck that might have been a Toyota Tundra.