Police Blotter: Bra Thefts Revealed at Victoria's Secret

Thefts/Shopliftings

Lawrence Township police are investigating several thefts that have taken place recently at the Victoria’s Secret store at Quaker Bridge Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike, according to police department spokesman Lt. Charles Edgar.

At 2:14 p.m. on Friday, April 8, police were alerted to the theft of about $1,000 worth of merchandise from the store, he said.

Then, at 4:37 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, police were notified that 20 bras in sizes 36B and 36C had been stolen from the store sometime between 2 and 4:30 p.m. that day, he said, noting that those items were worth a total of about $900.

The next day, Edgar said, at about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, the store informed police that another 20 bras – sizes unavailable – had been stolen from a display area for a loss of about $1,100.

No suspect descriptions were available in those thefts, he said.

And then, at 7:43 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, the store called police to report that 15 “Incredible Front-Close Push-Up” bras worth a total of $675 had been stolen, he said.

A possible suspect – who was seen leaving the store “in a hurry” carrying a large white bag – was described as a white or Hispanic woman with red or auburn hair, 35 to 40 years old and about 160 pounds, according to Edgar.

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Theft

At 7:46 a.m. on Thursday, April 14, a 41-year-old man from Egg Harbor who is working on the construction of a new academic building at Rider University called police to report that a tile saw valued at $1,000 was stolen from the work site on the campus in the 2000 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206), Edgar said, noting that the man last saw the saw on April 8. Officer Robert Wagner is investigating.

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Drug Paraphernalia Arrests  

Two Rider University students – Sara E. Weston, 21, of Farmingdale, and Jessica R. Sprung, 22, of Randolph – were arrested on the university campus and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia on Thursday, April 14, Edgar said.

He said a Rider security guard observed the two women allegedly passing something between one another while they sat in a Volkswagen parked near the university’s Centennial House. Believing the women were using drugs, the guard went up to the car and requested Lawrence Township police respond, according to Edgar.

While no drugs were discovered, a glass pipe commonly used to smoke marijuana was found in the women’s possession and they were arrested by Officer Robert Wagner, Edgar said.

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Thefts

Detective Sgt. Joseph Amodio responded to Dick Greenfield Dodge in the 2700 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) after management of the auto dealership called police at 11:38 a.m. on Thursday, April 14, to report that a $1,186 check that the dealership had received had been denied due to insufficient funds, Edgar said. He said the check had been written by a 65-year-old Hamilton Township man as payment for work that had been performed on his vehicle.

The man allegedly refused to pay the bill after he was advised by the dealership of his check bouncing, Edgar said. He said the dealership was in the process of signing a complaint against the man for issuing a bad check.

While at the dealership Thursday, Amodio was also informed of another matter in which a 40-year-old man from Clifton had allegedly stopped payment on a check he gave the dealership for over $7,000 worth of work that had been done to his vehicle, Edgar said. The dealership was also in the process of signing a theft of services complaint in that case, he said.  

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Theft

Officer Richard Laird III is investigating the theft of brass irrigation valves from the lawn sprinkler systems of the Woodmont development off Franklin Corner Road and the Gatherings development off Princess Road.

Edgar said the thefts took place sometime between October, when the water was turned off to the systems for the winter, and Thursday, April 14, when representatives of Greenleaf Lawn & Landscape Co. went out to prepare the systems for use this year.

Three valves worth a total of $3,600 were stolen from the Woodmont development and five valves worth a total of $6,000 were taken from the Gatherings development, he said.

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Simple Assault

Officer Mark Harmon and Detective Dave Burns are investigating two separate fights that took place involving the same two girls – ages 17 and 18 – from Lawrence High School, Edgar said.

The first incident took place Thursday night, April 14, as the girls were leaving the “Mr. LHS” pageant at the high school, although it was not reported to police until 8:17 a.m. the next day. The girls were previously friends but recently had a falling out, Edgar said, and while leaving the event Thursday night the 18-year-old allegedly ran up and punched the 17-year-old in the facing, causing some bruising.

The second incident took place in the high school about 9:40 a.m. on Friday, April 15, when the 18-year-old again allegedly approached the younger girl and started hitting her in the head, Edgar said. He said the fight was broken up by a school security guard, with the 17-year-old coming out of it suffering a small cut to her left ear.

Edgar said the investigation is ongoing and charges are pending the outcome of that probe.

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Shoplifting

Gary Brown, 32, of North Montgomery Street, Trenton, was charged with shoplifting after he allegedly tried to steal two bottles of Ciroc vodka from the Joe Canal’s liquor store at Mercer Mall in the 3300 block of the Brunswick Pike (Route 1) on Friday, April 15, Edgar said.

He said a store employee allegedly saw Brown conceal the bottles – worth a total of $66 – in his jacket. Brown paid for a can of beer and then went to leave the store, at which time the employee confronted him about the bottles in his pocket and summoned other employees over to detain Brown, he said.

Brown then allegedly pulled the bottles from his pockets and put them back on a shelf in an effort to appease the store employees, but they still called police and Brown was arrested by Officer Daniel Gladney, according to Edgar.

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Burglary

At 10:53 a.m. on Saturday, April 16, an 80-year-old resident of Carson Road called police to report that her purse was missing from her home. She told police the purse – containing about $100 in cash, as well as the woman’s driver’s license, medical insurance card and other property – had been sitting on the ledge of a bay window in the home, Edgar said.

While there was no sign of forced entry found the home, detectives are investigating the disappearance of the purse as a burglary, he said.

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Shoplifting

Gurdev Singh, 64, and Narinder Kaur, 56, both of Hampshire Drive in Plainsboro, were arrested at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, after they allegedly tried to steal 17 articles of clothing – shirts, underwear, a jacket – worth a total of about $600 from the Macy’s department store at Quaker Bridge Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1), Edgar said.

He said they allegedly concealed the merchandise in a large bag Singh was carrying and then left the store without paying. They were followed and detained by store loss prevention officials, who in turn called police. Singh and Kaur were each charged with shoplifting by Sgt. Chris Longo.

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Theft

Officer Michael Whitmore is investigating the theft of a weeping cherry tree from Peterson’s Nursery in the 3700 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206) sometime Sunday afternoon, April 17. The tree, which stood about 7-feet tall, was valued at $157, according to Edgar.

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Robbery

At 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 17, a 23-year-old resident of the Monmouth Junction section of South Brunswick called police to report that he had just been robbed of cash while in the parking lot of a business at the intersection of Lawrence Road (Route 206) and Princeton Avenue/Princeton Pike (Harney’s Corner), Edgar said.

The man told police he had gone to the parking lot to meet two men to whom he owed a “debt.” While talking to the men, they allegedly took money from him by force, although he was not hurt, Edgar said. The total amount stolen was unclear.

The incident remains under investigation by Detective Kevin Reading Jr.

Anyone with information about any of the above crimes is asked to call Lawrence Township police at (609) 896-1111.

A copy of Lawrence Township's police dispatch log for Thursday, April 14, through Sunday, April 18, 2011, 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.