Police Blotter: Four Mailboxes Wrecked by Vandals

Criminal Mischief

Police Officers Michael Whitmore and Mark Harmon are investigating who damaged four mailboxes – one on Brandon Road, two on Toftrees Court and one on Lawrenceville-Pennington Road – sometime between Tuesday night, May 17, and Wednesday morning, May 18, said Lt. Charles Edgar, spokesman for Lawrence Township Police Department.

Edgar said police received the first of several calls about the damage at 7:15 a.m. on May 18 and the last at 3:49 that afternoon. Some of the mailboxes were completely knocked off their posts, while others were just damaged, he said, noting that estimated damaged ranged between $50 and $150 per mailbox.

Police suspect the acts of vandalism are related to similar crimes that took place in Hopewell Township during the same time period, he said.

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Fraud

A 27-year-old resident of the 400 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206) called police at 9:50 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19, to report that she had just learned that someone had made an unauthorized withdrawal of $221 from her bank account, apparently by using a clone of her debit card at a store in Annapolis, Md., Edgar said.

He said the woman realized something was amiss with her bank account when she tried to use her real debit card at a local Target store and the purchase was denied.

Earlier this month, on May 8, the woman contact police to report that she had discovered evidence that . At the time, the woman reported that nothing was missing and that it appeared as if one had actually gotten inside the apartment.

But now, in light of the fraudulent withdrawal from the woman’s bank account, police are reexamining that attempted break-in and investigating if there is a connection between the two crimes, Edgar said.

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Theft

Township police are investigating yet another theft of bras from the Victoria’s Secret store at Quaker Bridge Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1).

It was 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, when police were alerted to the latest crime. Edgar said 20 “Very Sexy”-style bras – worth a total of $930 – were removed from two display drawers sometime between 6 and 9 p.m. on May 17. No suspects have been identified thus far, he said.

( and for details about earlier bra thefts at the store.)   

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Theft

A 50-year-old West Windsor resident called police at 8:13 a.m. on Wednesday, May 18, to report that someone had broken into her 2011 BMW by smashing out the rear driver’s side window and stolen two designer handbags and her wallet worth a total of about $800, Edgar said. He said the woman had left the vehicle parked in front of Gold’s Gym in the 4100 block of Quakerbridge Road and that the break-in happened sometime while she was working out.

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Fraud

A 70-year-old resident of Ontario Way called police at 11:38 a.m. on Tuesday, May 17, to report that someone had made unauthorized changes to his bank account via the Internet, Edgar said. While no money was actually stolen, the man’s passwords and other account information had been changed, he said. Officer Chris Stylianou is investigating.

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Theft  

Officer Chris Schuster was sent to an address on Fieldboro Drive at 1:02 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17, to investigate after police received a call from a man who said he had just discovered that a silver flatware set worth about $2,250 was missing from his father’s home, Edgar said.

He said the father had died recently and the son was going through the house for estate purposes when he realized the silver was missing. He said the son told police that many people – relatives, friends and health care professional – where in and out of the house during the last few weeks his father was alive.

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Theft

The theft of a rose bush and flower planter worth about $50 is being investigated by Officer Richard Laird III, Edgar said. He said a 62-year-old resident of Betts Avenue called police at 2:33 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17, to report the theft of the items, which he had left at the front of his property near the curb.

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Shoplifting

Jose Lopez, 18, of the 800 block of Park Avenue in Trenton, was arrested about 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, after he allegedly stole a $20 pair of cubic zirconia earrings from the J.C. Penney department store at Quaker Bridge Mall, Edgar said. He said Lopez allegedly walked out of the store without paying, with the earrings concealed in the front pocket of his sweatshirt. Lopez was detained by store loss prevention officials until Sgt. Chris Longo arrived to take him into custody and charge him with shoplifting.

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Shoplifting

A 17-year-old boy from Trenton was arrested about 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, after he allegedly stole a $16 pack of Nike socks from the Macy’s department store at Quaker Bridge Mall, Edgar said. He said the teenager was charged with shoplifting by Officer Suzanne Girard.

 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, May 17, through Wednesday, May 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.