Crime & Safety

Police Blotter: False Report of Fire Leads to Arrest

Here's a roundup of notable police activity in Lawrence Township from Nov. 20 through Nov. 28.

False Public Alarm

Vadzim Makarski, 29, of Town Court South, Lawrence Township, was arrested about 11:15 p.m. on Thanksgiving, Nov. 22, and charged with causing false public alarm after he allegedly called 911 and reported that his kitchen was on fire, according to Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry.

He said police and firefighters arrived to find no fire and that Makarski was instead having a dispute with family members.

Find out what's happening in Lawrencevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

*   *   *

Attempted Burglary

Find out what's happening in Lawrencevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Detective James Smith and Officer Mark Harmon are investigating a possible attempted burglary at a residence on Temple Terrace, Ubry said.

Residents called police at 5:14 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, to report they had found that one of their home’s basement windows had been broken out, Ubry said. He said nothing was missing from the residence and it did not appear that anyone ever got inside.

*   *   *

Driving Under the Influence

Martha Vincent, a 21-year-old resident of Ewing Township, was arrested about 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27, and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving and related offenses after her vehicle went off the road and hit a utility pole along Lawrence Road (Route 206) near the township’s border with Princeton Township, Ubry said. He said she was taken into custody after she performed poorly on field sobriety tests.

*   *   *

Driving Under the Influence

Juan R. Maldonado, 20, of Prospect Village, Trenton, was arrested about 2:40 a.m. on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 22, and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, possession of a controlled dangerous substance and seven other offenses after the vehicle he was driving was stopped by police in the area of Brunswick Avenue and Pine Street, Ubry said.

Officer Andres Mejia was on supplemental DUI patrol when he observed Maldonado allegedly driving very slow on Brunswick Pike approaching the Brunswick Circle, Ubry said. He said Mejia initiated the traffic stop after following the auto and seeing it swerve while navigating the traffic circle.

Maldonado was taken into custody after he performed poorly on field sobriety tests, according to Ubry, who said that methamphetamines were discovered in Maldonado’s possession after his arrest.

*   *   *

Driving Under the Influence

Christine S. Aerial, 37, of the 100 block of Passaic Street, Trenton, was arrested about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 24, and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test, leaving the scene of an accident, failing to report an accident, making an unsafe lane change and related offenses, Ubry said.

After her vehicle was involved in a collision with another auto on Brunswick Pike (Route 1) in the area of Franklin Corner Road, Aerial allegedly drove away but police located her and her vehicle a short time later in the area of the Brunswick Circle, according to Ubry.

 *   *   *

Theft

At 8:12 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 26, police were notified of a theft from a vehicle in the parking lot of the Olive Garden restaurant in Mercer Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1).

Ubry said the vehicle’s owner, who was at work at the restaurant at the time the crime was committed, told police that $290 in cash was stolen from the auto. Although the owner believed the vehicle had been locked, no evidence of forced entry was found, Ubry noted.

*   *   *

Criminal Mischief

At 11:40 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 26, police were notified of an act of criminal mischief in which someone used an unknown object to smash the windshield and driver’s window of a Toyota Corolla while it was parked in the driveway of a home in the 2600 block of Princeton Pike, Ubry said.

 

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 Tuesday, Nov. 20, through Wednesday, Nov. 28, 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.

 

See Also:

  • Nov. 23: “Man Fatally Struck by Train Identified as Lawrence Resident”
  • Nov. 28: “”
  • Nov. 29: “”
  • Nov. 30: “Burglary Suspects Arrested by Lawrence Detectives”
  • Nov. 30: “Fire at Lawrence Shopping Center Quickly Doused”      


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.