Crime & Safety

Police Blotter: House Floods After Copper Pipes Stolen During Burglary

Here's a roundup of notable police activity in Lawrence Township from May 31 through June 6.

Burglary

A burglary in which thousands of dollars worth of copper pipes were stolen, causing a water leak that completely flooded the basement of a home, in under investigation, Lawrence Township Police Department spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry said.

He said the break-in occurred to a vacant house in the 200 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206) sometime between May 20 and Monday, June 4.

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The owner called police at 1:58 p.m. on June 4 after he went to check on the property and discovered the damage, Ubry said. He said water filled the basement almost all the way up to the first floor, completely covering the home’s electrical panel.

PSE&G personnel responded to shut off power, while a crew from Trenton Water Works came out to turn off the water, he said. In addition to the copper pipes that were taken, a condenser for an air conditioning unit was stolen, he said.

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Preliminary investigation suggests the burglar(s) gained entry to the residence by breaking a window, Ubry said.

The break-in is being investigated by Officer Andres Mejia and members of the township detective bureau.

*   *   *

Burglary

Lawrence Township police are also investigating a burglary that took place on Tuesday, June 5, at a home on Tudor Lane in the Tiffany Woods development off Spruce Street, according to Sgt. Joseph Amodio, also a township police spokesman.

He said a resident called police at 5:06 p.m. after returning home from work to find that a laptop computer that had been on a dining room table was missing. The computer, valued at $1,200, appeared to be the only thing missing, he said.

The break-in was believed to have happened between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. that day. Damage was found to a screen in a window that had apparently been left unlocked, Amodio said.

Officer James Vardanega and Detective Kevin Reading are investigating the burglary.

 *   *   *

Driving Under the Influence

Christopher Zupancic, 18, of Plainsboro, was arrested about 2:45 a.m. on Friday, June 1, and charged with driving under the influence, underage DUI, assault by auto, reckless driving, careless driving and tailgating after the Toyota Camry he was driving crashed into the rear of another vehicle of Brunswick Pike (Route 1), just north of Interstate 295, according to Ubry.

Zupancic’s Toyota suffered significant front-end damage, while the rear of the other vehicle, a van, was also badly damaged, Ubry said. He said Zupancic was not hurt, but the 61-year-old Trenton man who was driving the van complained of pain after the collision and was transported by ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton.

Officer Erini Papafilipakis made the arrest of Zupancic, while Officer Andres Mejia investigated the collision.

*   *   *

Drug Offense

Cristian Osorio, an 18-year-old Lawrence Township resident, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams after police stopped him for questioning as he was walking along Michigan Avenue at about 11:40 p.m. on Friday, June 1, Ubry said.

He said the arrest was made by Officer James Larkin Jr., who was investigating a complaint about a suspicious person in the neighborhood.

*   *   *

Driving Under the Influence

Abdelilah Amarti, 44, of Ewing Township was arrested about 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, and charged with driving under the influence, DUI in a school zone, DUI while having a minor child in his vehicle, reckless driving, refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test, and failing to maintain a lane, according to Ubry.

Officer Chris DiMeglio stopped the vehicle being driven by Amarti on Whitehead Road after he allegedly observed Amarti commit a traffic violation, Ubry said, noting that a toddler was riding as a passenger in the vehicle at the time.

Upon further investigation, DiMeglio administered field sobriety tests to Amarti, Ubry said. He said Amarti was taken into custody on the DUI charges after he allegedly performed poorly of those sobriety tests.

*   *   *

Theft

Gregory Daniels, a 53-year-old Trenton resident, was arrested shortly before 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 2, and charged with theft after a police officer allegedly observed him steal a bundle of newspapers from outside a delicatessen, Ubry said.

He said Officer Michael Smith was on patrol when he spotted Daniels pushing a metal cart in the vicinity of the Brunswick Traffic Circle. Smith kept Daniels under surveillance and followed Daniels as he made his way to the Lucky 7 deli at the corner of Lawrence Road (Route 206) and Princeton Avenue, he said.

Ubry said some businesses in that end of the township had recently complained to police that bundles of newspapers had been stolen between the time they were delivered in the middle of the night and when the businesses opened in the morning.

After he alleged took the $21.75 bundle of Trentonian newspapers from Lucky 7, Daniels was promptly taken into custody by Smith, Ubry said.

*   *   *

Theft

At 9:40 a.m. on Saturday, June 2, residents of a home on Lanning Avenue called police to report that two bicycles – worth a total of $450 – were stolen from their property sometime between the evening of May 29 and the morning of June 2, Ubry said. He said one of the bikes was taken from the home’s front porch and the other was stolen from the rear yard. Officer Shawn Sudol was assigned the investigation.

*   *   *

Theft

At 7:29 a.m. on Monday, June 4, police were notified of a theft involving an unlocked vehicle that occurred on Kite Court in the Lawrence Square Village complex sometime overnight, Ubry said. Stolen from the Toyota was a wallet containing some cash, a credit card and assorted personal items, he said. Officer Thomas Chianese is investigating.

*   *   *

Theft

A resident of the 2300 block of Princeton Pike called police at 5:47 p.m. on Monday, June 4, to report that someone had stolen her bicycle – valued at $100 – from the rear of her property sometime between June 2 and June 4, Ubry said. He said Officer Chris Stylianou is investigating.

*   *   *

Investigation

At noon on Tuesday, June 5, administrators at Lawrence High School notified police that a student was suspected of having concealed some kind of narcotic in a soda bottle, according to Amodio. He said the liquid that was found in the bottle has been sent to a laboratory to be analyzed, and the incident remains under investigation by Officer Andrew Lee and Detective Dave Burns.  

*   *   *

Criminal Mischief

At 3:14 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5, the owner of a van called police to report that one of the windows was damaged while the vehicle was parked at St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center in the 2300 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206), Amodio said, noting that nothing was stolen from inside the van. He said Officer Thomas Everist is investigating it as an act of criminal mischief, but he said it is possible the window was damaged by a rock thrown up by a passing lawnmower.

 

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, May 31, through Wednesday, June 6, 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.


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