Police Blotter: Burglaries, DUI Crash, Robbery, Drugs...

Burglary

Additional details about have been released by Lawrence Township police.

Lt. Charles Edgar, police department spokesman, said the two young men broke into the house about 3 p.m. apparently did not realize the entire family was home at the time – the 41-year-old husband sleeping upstairs and the 41-year-old wife in the basement with the couple’s two young children, one of whom is an infant.

Hearing a loud crash that roused him from his sleep, the husband went downstairs and found that the two men – believed to be in their teens – had forced open a door and were inside the house, Edgar said. He said the husband ordered them to get out and they immediately fled.

The wife told police she came upstairs just in time to see, through a window, one of the burglars running across the home’s rear deck, heading south, Edgar said. He said the couple described the burglars as both being black, possibly about 17 years old, 5 feet 7 or 8 inches tall, 160 to 170 pounds, wearing dark hoodies and blue jeans.

The burglars are believed to have not had time enough in the house to steal anything.

While police were investigating the crime, the couple advised them of another break-in that took place at their house on Feb. 6 but which they did not report to authorities at the time, Edgar said.

In that incident, he said, the husband was home sleeping but awoke to find a black male wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt standing in his bedroom doorway. That person fled the house when the husband yelled at him.

Edgar said both break-ins remain under investigation and police are working to determine if the man who entered the house on Feb. 6 was one of the two who broke in this past Sunday.

*   *   *

Burglary

At 12:44 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, a resident of the 900 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206) called Lawrence Township police to report that she had just returned home and found that her side door had been forced open and numerous pieces of furniture in the house had been “rummaged through,” Edgar said.

The woman told police she had been gone from the home for less than a half-hour, he said. Various pieces of jewelry worth more than $1,000 were stolen, he said.

*   *   *

Driving Under the Influence

Stanislaw Sleszynski, 50, of the 100 block of Brickhouse Road, Princeton Township, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after the vehicle he was operating collided head-on into another automobile about 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, in the 1000 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206), according to Edgar.

Sleszynski was driving northbound on Lawrence Road when his vehicle crossed over into the southbound side of the road and struck the front of the vehicle being driven by Michael Adams, 48, of Review Avenue, Lawrence Township, Edgar said. He said Sleszynski’s vehicle then came to rest on the front lawn of a nearby home.

Sleszynski and Adams both suffered head and facial injuries and were transported by ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton for treatment, Edgar said, adding that both vehicles sustained significant front-end damage.

He said Sleszynski was charged by Officer Erini Papafilipakis with driving under the influence, DUI in a school zone, reckless driving, careless driving, failure to maintain a lane, operating a vehicle at night without its headlights on and having an open alcoholic container in a vehicle.

*   *   *

Robbery

Three women from Plainfield were arrested Wednesday, Feb. 1, after they allegedly tried to steal handbags and other items from the Macy’s department store at Quaker Bridge Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1), Edgar said.

The women – Karen E. Goffe, 37; Ebony L. Nevius, 35; and Antonette V. Aaron, 19 – were each charged with shoplifting, and Goffe was also charged with possession of burglary tools and robbery, according to Edgar.

He said the robbery charge was the result of Goffe allegedly using force during the commission of the crime by biting the right wrist of the Macy’s loss prevention officer who had detained her.

Edgar said Goffe allegedly used a pair of wire cutters to remove the security sensors from the items, which she passed to the other two women. The three then – without paying for the items – allegedly walked out of the store with four Michael Kors handbags, a wristlet purse and a wallet worth a total of about $800, he said.

A store loss prevention officer who had witnessed the women’s actions followed them and detained Goffe, at which time she allegedly flailed her arms and bit the man in an unsuccessful attempt to escape, Edgar said. He said Nevius and Aaron were caught by township police Sgt. Joseph Lech IV and Officer Chris Schuster following a brief foot chase.

The Macy’s loss prevention officer who was bitten was treated at the scene by emergency medical personnel and ultimately declined an ambulance ride to a hospital, Edgar said.

*   *   *

Drug Arrests

Three young men and a 17-year-old girl were arrested and charged with drug possession on Friday, Feb. 10, after police received a complaint about two carloads of juveniles “acting suspiciously” at the dead end of Province Line Road, just south of Pretty Brook Road near the Princeton Township border, Edgar said.

Police responded to the area and stopped the vehicles to question the occupants. Upon approaching one of the autos, officers allegedly smelled an odor of burnt marijuana, Edgar said. Subsequent investigation, he said, revealed marijuana and related drug paraphernalia.

He said the four people in that vehicle were each charged by Officer Richard Laird III with possession of under 50 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

In addition to the 17-year-old Princeton girl, whose name cannot be released because she is a juvenile, the other suspects were identified by Edgar as Juan P. Cardona, 21, of Clay Street, Princeton Borough; Miguel Rodas, 18, of Franklin Terrace. Princeton Township; and Alex S. Lafontant, 21, of Redding Circle, Princeton Township.

He said Cardona was also charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and Lafontant was also charged with unlawful possession of a weapon for having a folding knife on his person.

The occupants of the second vehicle were not arrested, he said.

*   *   *

Drug Arrest

Michael A. Kimball, 27, of the 100 block of Roxboro Road, Lawrence Township, was arrested about 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1, and charged with possession of under 50 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, Edgar said.

He said Sgt. Tim Drew was on patrol when he saw Kimball allegedly toss a cigarette on the ground while he was walking along Lawrence Road (Route 206) in the area of Fernwood Lane.

Drew stopped to issue Kimball a summons for violating the township’s littering ordinance. Kimball appeared nervous and further investigation by Drew and Officer Richard Laird III revealed Kimball was in possession of a small amount of marijuana and some aluminum foil with suspected marijuana residue on it, according to Edgar.

Kimball was in September of last year. 

*   *   *

Thefts

Sometime between Friday evening, Feb. 4, and Saturday morning, Feb. 5, property was stolen from five vehicles, at least four of which had been left unlocked by their owners.

Edgar said a 48-year-old resident of Tamar Court called police at 10:29 a.m. on Feb. 5 to report that prescription sunglasses and a GPS unit, worth a total of over $700, had been stolen from his vehicle, a Chevrolet. The man was unsure if he had locked the vehicle; no evidence of forced entry was found.  

At 1:49 p.m. that same day a 46-year-old resident of the 100 block of Nassau Drive, located a few blocks away from Tamar Court on the opposite side of Lawrenceville-Pennington Road, reported to police that about $3 in loose change had been stolen from her Mazda Protégé, Edgar said. He said the woman had left the car unlocked and realized that someone had been inside the vehicle when she found the ashtray – where the coins had been – overturned.

And at 2:52 p.m. on Feb. 5 residents of another home in the 100 block of Nassau Drive reported to police that property had been stolen from three vehicles – a Chevrolet Tahoe, a Mazda MZ6 and a Chevrolet Malibu – that had been left unlocked in their driveway overnight, Edgar said. Among the items stole, he said, were an iPod, a pair of sunglasses, a small amount of loose change, and a gym bag containing personal items.

Officers Kelly Longo and Thomas Everist are investigating the crimes.

*   *   *

Natural Gas Leak

Shortly after 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, township police and firefighters were alerted to a natural gas leak behind the Office Depot store at Mercer Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1). A contractor had accidentally ruptured an underground natural gas line while excavating to install a parking bollard. The Office Depot store was evacuated and firefighters deployed a hoseline as a precaution until PSE&G personnel were able to shut off the gas flow to the damaged pipe. No injuries were reported.

*   *   *

Accidental Injuries

An 87-year-old Hamilton Township woman and her 84-year-old sister who lives in Trenton were injured when they fell on an escalator inside the J.C. Penney department store at Quaker Bridge Mall on about 1:10 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, Edgar said. He said one of the women lost her balance and fell, knocking her sister down.

The 87-year-old woman suffered an 18-inch laceration to one of her legs, while the 84-year-old complained of pain to her face and nose, Edgar said, noting that both women were transported by ambulance to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton for treatment. Officer Marc Poveromo investigated the accident.

*   *   *

Drug Investigation

Officer Adam Kowalczyk was sent to Lawrence High School at about 3:10 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3, to investigate after a security officer at the school discovered a small amount of marijuana in the parking lot, Edgar said. 

*   *   *

Theft of Services

At 7:33 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, a taxi driver from Crescent Cab Co. of Philadelphia called Lawrence Township police to report that a passenger had just fled without paying his $110 bill, Edgar said.

The taxi driver told police he had picked up the passenger at Philadelphia International Airport and that the man had asked to be driven to an address on Larkspur Lane in Lawrence. Upon the cab’s arrival at the address, the man told the taxi driver had had to go inside to get money and would be back in a moment, Edgar said.

The taxi driver told police the man – carrying a backpack, his only piece of luggage – walked around to the side of the house and disappeared from view. After the man failed to return, the taxi driver called police.

Edgar said police checked the residence and found no one matching the man’s description. Believing the man had fled as soon as he was out of the driver’s sight, officers checked the general area but still could not locate the man, who was described as white, 25 to 30 years old with a medium build, about 5 feet 7 inches tall, wearing a white hooded sweatshirt or jacket.

*   *   *

Criminal Mischief

At 8:35 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, a 30-year-old man called police to report that someone had shattered the windshield of his 2002 Nissan Sentra in Parking Lot C of Quaker Bridge Mall, Edgar said. He said the man, who works in the mall, discovered the damage at the end of his shift and told police the crime occurred sometime after he parked the car there about noon that day. Officer Sean Kerins is investigating.

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 Wednesday, Feb. 1, through Sunday, Feb. 12, 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.