Over $34K in Tools Taken in Burglaries, Auto Break-Ins

A rash of burglaries and vehicle break-ins during which more than $34,000 worth of assorted tools were stolen is currently under investigation by Lawrence Township detectives, police department spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry confirmed.

The investigation began at 11:07 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, when township police received a call from a Michigan man who reported that sometime between 2 and 6 a.m. that morning someone forced their way into a locked tool box in his pickup truck in the parking lot of the Comfort Inn and stole more than $5,000 worth of assorted tools, Ubry said, explaining that the man was in New Jersey doing post-Hurricane Sandy work and was staying at the hotel in the 3200 block of Route 1.

At 8:04 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 16, an Oklahoma resident, staying at the Comfort Inn while he does work at the MarketFair shopping center in West Windsor Township, called police to report that between 6 o’clock that morning and 9:30 p.m. the previous evening someone got inside a lock box in his vehicle and took more than $1,200 worth of tools, Ubry said.

The next day, Saturday, Nov. 17, police were notified at 7:54 a.m. that more than $3,000 worth of tools and landscaping equipment had been stolen from a landscaping trailer belonging to Speakman Landscaping that had been left parked in the lot of Superior Chevrolet on Renaissance Boulevard, Ubry said. The trailer’s padlock was found to have been cut away, he said, noting that the crime took place sometime between 7:45 a.m. on Nov 13 and 7:15 a.m. on Nov. 17.

And at 8:32 a.m. on Nov. 17 police were alerted to a burglary at the Hub Leasing Inc. property in the 2800 block of Route 1 that occurred sometime after 6 p.m. the night before, Ubry said. He said a door was found to have been pried open and over $25,000 worth of assorted tools – more than 100 items in total – belonging to five separate mechanics stolen.

Another burglary, involving a storage trailer at the rear of the Lawrenceville Garden apartment complex on Franklin Corner Road, is also under investigation. That crime is believed to have taken place between 4 p.m. on Nov. 15 and 7:40 a.m. on Nov. 16, when it was discovered by a complex maintenance worker and reported to police, Ubry said. While a lock was cut away, nothing appeared to have been taken from the trailer, he said.

Detective Kevin Reading Jr. is leading the investigation. Police ask anyone with information about the crimes to call him at (609) 896-1111.

A copy of Lawrence Township's police dispatch log for Thursday, Nov. 15, through Monday, Nov. 19, 2012, can be viewed from the PDF box above. This log lists all significant calls for service and incidents for which officers filed a written report. Routine administrative assignments are omitted. Some data has been redacted to protect the identity of crime victims.