Police Blotter: Man Allegedly Pretended to be a Cop

Impersonating a Police Officer

Johnny L. Fields, 50, of the 200 block of Hamilton Avenue in Trenton, was arrested about 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, June 11, on a charge alleging he impersonated a police officer, according to Lawrence Township Police Department spokesman Lt. Charles Edgar.

Edgar said police received a complaint from a motorist who claimed that Fields was driving aggressively on Princeton Pike and had, among other things, illegally passed the caller’s vehicle on the right. The caller followed Fields’ vehicle to the Lawrence Shopping Center, which is where police caught up with him.

Fields “was wearing numerous pieces of clothing with police insignia on them and he said he was an officer with the state,” Edgar said. He said Fields was also in possession of a gold badge similar to those worn by police officers.

Officers checked and discovered that Fields was not a law enforcement officer but instead worked as a bounty hunter for a bail bonds agency, Edgar said. He said police also discovered that Fields was wanted by Trenton police in connection with five outstanding warrants worth a total of $866.

Edgar said Fields was taken into custody on those warrants and charged by Lawrence police with impersonating an officer. He said the motorists who initially called police was advised about complaint signing procedures in case he wished to file a formal charge with regard to Fields’ alleged traffic violations.

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Harassment

Detective Scott Caloiaro is investigating an incident in which a 16-year-old boy was allegedly kicked in the leg by his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend while in a hallway at Lawrence High School on Friday, June 10, Edgar said, noting that the boy was not seriously hurt.

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Theft by Deception

Censation Nance, 22, of Tudor Lane in Lawrence Township, was charged with theft by deception and obstructing the administration of law after she was arrested on Saturday, June 11, Edgar said.

Edgar said that about 3 p.m. on June 12 Nance purchased three pairs of Levi’s jeans worth $68.86 from the Macy’s department store at Quaker Bridge Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1).

He said she then returned to the store at around 6:30 p.m., at which time she allegedly picked up three identical pairs of Levi’s and went to the sales counter to “return” the jeans she had just grabbed and exchange them for other items using the receipt she had received for her purchase earlier in the day.

The sales clerk made the exchange and then notified police once Nance left the store. Nance, realizing authorities had been alerted, fled the mall and ran off through the parking lot, Edgar said. He said she was found at short time later and arrested by Sgt. Chris Longo in the area of a nearby auto dealership.   

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Investigation

Lawrence Township police and the Mercer County Medical Examiner’s Office are investigating the death of a man who collapsed and died outside the CVS Pharmacy at the corner of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) and Darrah Lane East about 4:45 p.m. on Friday, June 10.

Edgar said witnesses reported seeing the 57-year-old Princeton resident suffer some type of seizure and strike his head as he fell to the ground. While there is nothing suspicious about the incident, he said, authorities want to determine whether the man’s death was the result of a medical problem or the head injury he suffered while falling.   

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Theft

A resident of Mink Court called police at 4:53 p.m. on Friday, June 10, to report that someone had stolen a lawn mower, backpack-style leaf blower and other landscaping equipment – worth an estimated $1,600 – sometime between 2:15 and 2:45 p.m. on June 9, Edgar said. He said the equipment was taken from the victim’s front lawn. Officer Marc Caponi is investigating.

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Theft

A 44-year-old man called police at 7:08 a.m. on Saturday, June 11, to report that the tailgate to his 2007 Dodge Ram pickup truck had been stolen sometime between 8 p.m. on June 10 and 6:45 a.m. on June 11 while the vehicle was parked at the Meadow Woods apartment complex in the 400 block of Lawrence Road, Edgar said. An estimate on the value of the tailgate was not available.

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Shoplifting

Michael J. Borges, 26, of the 2300 block of South Broad Street in Hamilton Township was arrested about 12:50 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, after he allegedly stole two pairs of pants – worth a total of $110 – from the Sears department store in Quaker Bridge Mall, Edgar said.

Borges was observed allegedly entering a fitting room carrying three pairs of pants and a suit jacket. When he exited the fitting room a few minutes later, he was carrying only one pair of pants and the jacket, Edgar said. He said store employees searched the fitting room but did not find the other two pairs of pants.

As a result, they went after Borges, who by then had left the store. When they caught up with him, they discovered that Borges was allegedly wearing the two stolen pairs of pants beneath a pair of sweatpants he had on, Edgar said. He said Borges was arrested by Officer Michael Whitmore and charged with shoplifting. Borges was also found to be wanted in connection with $1,413 worth of outstanding warrants from Trenton and Upper Freehold.   

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Shoplifting

Monique C. Lowe, a 23-year-old resident of Trenton, was arrested about 2:10 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, after she allegedly stole $81.33 worth of baby clothes and other merchandise from the Toys R Us store in the 3200 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1), according to Edgar. He said she allegedly concealed the 14 items in her purse and then left the store without paying. She was detained outside by store employees and later charged with shoplifting by Officer Steve Simon.

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Shoplifting

Officer Mark Harmon is working to identify a woman who allegedly stole merchandise from the Acme supermarket at Lawrence Shopping Center in the 2400 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, Edgar said. He said store employees saw the woman in the baby food isle concealing items in her pocketbook.

The woman fled the store before she could be detained and was last seen leaving the shopping center in a green sport utility vehicle. Edgar said the woman was described as black, in her early 20s with a slim build, about 5 feet 5 inches tall and between 120 and 140 pounds.

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Shoplifting

Officer Chris Stylianou is investigating a shoplifting incident in which a man allegedly stole several items, including an $11 family-sized Stouffers frozen meal, from the Acme supermarket at Lawrence Shopping Center shortly before 7:10 a.m. Sunday, June 12, Edgar said.

The man – described as white, between 40 and 50 years old, with a thin build, 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet tall, and 165 to 180 pounds – was seen going to the store’s self check-out area. But finding those registers were closed, he went back down an aisle, paused there for a while, and then allegedly exited the store without paying for any merchandise, according to Edgar. He said store employees were unable to tell what items the man was carrying other than the one Stouffers meal.  

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Warrant Arrest

George Sanchez Jr., 39, of the 400 block of Hudson Street in Trenton, was arrested about 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 12, and charged with providing false information to police, Edgar said. He said Officer Ed Podbielski stopped the Honda Civic that Sanchez was driving for a routine traffic violation on Spruce Street.

During the stop, Sanchez allegedly gave a false name and false address to the officer, Edgar said. After Sanchez’s true identity was discovered, he said, Podbielski found that Sanchez’s driver’s license had been suspended.

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Theft

A 48-year-old resident of Carter Road called police at 6:48 p.m. on Sunday, June 12, to report that prescription medications had been stolen from his home and that he suspected a recent visitor to the home was responsible, Edgar said. He said Officer Shaun Sexton was dispatched to investigate.

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 Friday, June 10, through Sunday, June 12, 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.