Crime & Safety

Police Blotter: Man Crashes Friend's Car After Stealing It

Here's a roundup of notable police activity in Lawrence Township from Dec. 20 through Jan. 1.

Driving Under the Influence

Gansukh Tumurtogoo, 27, of Western Avenue, Ewing Township, was arrested about 11:40 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 29, and charged with driving under the influence, DUI in a school zone, reckless driving, motor vehicle theft, resisting arrest and three other offenses after he allegedly crashed his friend’s 1994 Honda Accord into the landscaping in the center of the Brunswick Traffic Circle, according to Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry.

Tumurtogoo stole his friend’s car from the Lawrence Shopping Center parking lot after the friend put Tumurtogoo in the passenger’s seat, started the vehicle to warm it up and then momentarily went back into the restaurant from which they had just come, according to Ubry.

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

He said Tumurtogoo, who was not wearing a seat belt, suffered facial injuries when his head struck the windshield during the crash and was transported by ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton.

*   *   *

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

Burglary Suspect Arrested

Walter C. Frank, 32, whose last known address was on White Oak Way in Ewing Township, was arrested about 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 27, and charged with burglary to a vehicle, theft, possession of drug paraphernalia (crack pipe), hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence after he allegedly broke into a pickup truck parked along Valley Forge Avenue, Ubry said.

A witness reported seeing Frank smash out the passenger’s side window of the pickup, remove a camera and a GPS unit – worth a combined $400 – and then flee on a bicycle, Ubry said.

Responding police officers located Frank in the area of Mulberry Street and Enterprise Avenue and took him into custody, he said, noting that Frank initially lied about his identity when the arresting officer asked him for his name.

*   *   *  

Driving Under the Influence

Tanisha Dyton, 39, of the 1300 block of Ohio Avenue, Trenton, was arrested about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20, and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, careless driving and two other traffic offenses after the sport utility vehicle she was driving struck the rear of another vehicle while navigating the Brunswick Traffic Circle, Ubry said.

Officer Andres Mejia was just completing an unrelated traffic stop nearby when he witnessed the collision, Ubry said. Mejia took Dyton into custody after she failed field sobriety tests, he said, adding that neither Dyton nor the other driver – a 32-year-old Trenton woman – was hurt.

*   *   *  

Driving Under the Influence

Deanna M. Zoog, 27, of the 400 block of Federal City Road, Hopewell Township, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving and failing to maintain a lane after the vehicle she was driving was stopped by Officer Marc Poveromo on Princeton Pike near Lenox Drive about 1:40 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20, Ubry said.

Poveromo initiated the traffic stop after observing Zoog’s vehicle weaving in and out of its lane of travel, Ubry said. Zoog was taken into custody after she performed poorly on field sobriety tests, he said.

*   *   *  

Driving Under the Influence

Krzysztof Dziadowicz, 52, of Fountayne Lane, Lawrence Township, was arrested about 4:40 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 28, and charged with driving under the influence, DUI in a school zone, assault by auto, reckless driving and careless driving after his vehicle, a Nissan, crashed into another vehicle, an Acura, at Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) and Slack Avenue, Ubry said. He said the driver of the Acura complained of back pain following the crash and was transported by ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton.

*   *   *  

Drug Offense

A 16-year-old Lawrence High School student was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia after a school administrator, while investigating an odor of burnt marijuana in the hallway outside a girl’s bathroom, found a small amount of “green leafy material” inside the girl’s purse and drug paraphernalia the girl allegedly tossed under bleachers in the gymnasium, Ubry said, noting that the school notified police of the crime at 2:22 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20.

*   *   *  

Drug Offense

Randy Watson, 23, of Providence, R.I., was arrested about 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 28,  and charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams and six motor vehicle violations after the vehicle he was driving was stopped by Officer Edwin Podbielski on Princeton Avenue after Podbielski noticed the vehicle bore a “fictitious” license plate, Ubry said, noting that small amounts of marijuana were spotted in plain view in the vehicle’s ashtray and also later found concealed in a cup.

*   *   *  

Drug Offense

Charles Land, a 22-year-old Ewing Township resident, was charged with being under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance after he passed out after allegedly using heroin on Christmas morning, Tuesday, Dec. 25, Ubry said.

Police and emergency medical personnel were called to a room at Comfort Inn in the 3200 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1) after a friend found Land to be “unresponsive, with purple lips,” Ubry said. He said Land was transported by ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton and, after being treated there, was charged with the drug offense.    

*   *   *  

Burglary

Detective William Chester is investigating a burglary during which assorted tools and equipment worth about $1,000 were stolen from a building in the 2800 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1) that is in the process of being remodeled, Ubry said. He said evidence of forced entry was found.

*   *   *  

Theft

On Thursday, Dec. 20, police were notified that all four tires and rims – worth a total of about $1,650 – had been stolen off a 2008 Acura while the vehicle was parked outside Building 10 of the Avalon Run apartment complex on Mapleleaf Drive, Ubry said, noting that the theft took place between 4:50 p.m. on Dec. 19 and 7:10 a.m. on Dec. 20. The owner called police after finding the vehicle resting atop cinderblocks. Several similar crimes at the Avalon Run complex, including one reported on Dec. 13, remain under investigation by police.

*   *   *  

Theft

A purse, together with its contents, was stolen from a vehicle that had its driver’s side window smashed out between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. while it was parked outside Retro Fitness gym at Lawrence Shopping Center in the 2400 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) on Wednesday, Dec. 26, Ubry said. A bank card that was among the stolen items was used to make a fraudulent purchase in Morrisville, Pa., later that afternoon, he said.

*   *   *  

Criminal Mischief

Sometime between 10 a.m. on Dec. 22 and 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 25 someone smashed out both passenger’s side windows of a Nissan Frontier while it was parked outside the Dollar Rent-A-Car business in the 2000 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1), Ubry said. The interior of the car was found to have been “rummaged through” but nothing appeared to be missing, he said, noting that the vehicle is owned by a resident of the 1500 block of Brunswick Pike.  

*   *   *  

Criminal Mischief

Lance Cory Clay, 21, of Milwaukee, Wis., was arrested a little after 11 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 31, after he allegedly damaged one of the rooms at the Red Roof Inn in the 3200 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1) by putting a fist-sized hole in a wall and putting his fist through a window, Ubry said. He said Clay was transported by ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton to be treated for lacerations suffered when he punched the glass.   

 

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, Dec. 20, 2012, through Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, 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.

 


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.