Crime & Safety

Police Blotter: Man Says He Was Robbed, Bullet Found in Trunk, Vehicles Shot With Paintballs...

Here's a roundup of notable police activity in Lawrence Township from April 9 through April 15.

Robbery

Lawrence Township police are investigating a robbery that allegedly took place in the 600 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206) during the afternoon of Saturday, April 14, according to police department spokesman Lt. Charles Edgar.

The victim, a 28-year-old Trenton man, told police he was standing on the sidewalk in the area of Notre Dame High School when he was approached by two men and a woman. “They told him to give them everything he had or they would hurt him,” Edgar said.

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The victim told police he surrendered his $300 Blackberry cell phone and the three – who were described only as being white and between 20 and 25 years old – took off running toward the wooded area behind the Poulson & Van Hise funeral home, Edgar said.

He said police were notified of the robbery at 3:35 p.m. and immediately searched the area but did not locate any suspects. Detective William Chester is leading the investigation.

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Driving Under the Influence

Andrew H. Shin, 31, of the 100 block of Hollowbrook Drive, Ewing Township, was arrested about 10:10 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, and charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving, Edgar said.

Responding to a 911 call about a man reportedly slumped over in the driver’s seat of a 1999 Cadillac Escalade parked along the side of J. Russel Smith Road in the Tiffany Woods housing development off Spruce Street, police officers found Shin asleep in the vehicle, Edgar said.

Officers had a difficult time waking Shin up, he said. Shin allegedly smelled of alcohol and was taken into custody after he performed poorly of field sobriety tests, he said.

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Theft

Eight catalytic converters were cut off and stolen from four vans parked outside the Brighter Day office in the 2700 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) sometime between 10 p.m. on Wednesday, April 11, and 7 a.m. on Thursday, April 12, according to Edgar. He said there were two converters on each van and that the stolen parts totaled about $7,000. Officer Marc Caponi is investigating the crime, which was reported to police at 7:29 a.m. on April 12.

In late March, at the nearby Lawrence Toyota auto dealership in the 2800 block of Brunswick Pike.

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Criminal Mischief

Township police are working to identify the person who used a paintball gun to shoot up three vehicles parked on Glenview Drive and Villa Nova Drive sometime during the evening of Saturday, April 14, or the morning of Sunday, April 15. Police were notified about the crime at 9:38 a.m. on April 15 after one of the victims discovered his vehicle covered in orange paint, Edgar said.

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Property Damage

At 10:25 a.m. on Friday, April 13, a 39-year-old woman from Princeton reported to police that she believed that a bullet had struck her 2009 Toyota Camry on April 7 while it was parked outside the ShopRite supermarket at Mercer Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1), Edgar said.

He said the woman told police she came out of the supermarket about 1:30 p.m. that day and noticed a small hole in the rear of her Toyota. The woman told police that, at that time, she thought the hole might have been caused by another vehicle hitting her car, but days later she discovered a bullet fragment in her trunk.

Police collected the fragment as evidence and Officer Robert Loveless is investigating, Edgar said. He noted that police never received any reports of gunshots in the area of Mercer Mall and it remains unclear at this time if the bullet was fired into the car while it was in Lawrence Township or if it happened elsewhere.

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Fire

Investigators have determined that a stray ember from a fire pit was the cause of , Edgar said.

He said the metal pan-style fire pit had been located on the deck. He said the blaze was reported at 12:29 a.m. after an 18-year-old resident returned home and spotted smoke and an orange glow coming from the rear of her family’s property. Going into her house, she looked outside and discovered the deck ablaze.

Township volunteer firefighters extinguished the blaze, but not before the flames had destroyed the deck and damaged the siding at the rear of the house.

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Recovered Property

At 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 12, police were notified that two 24-packs of Budweiser light beer were on the ground at the corner of Lawrence Road (Route 206) and Forrest Avenue, with no one around, Edgar said. He said Officer Mark Harmon collected the beer and logged it in as “recovered property” at the police station.

*   *   *

Property Damage

A large tree limb, snapped by the morning’s strong wind gusts, fell and damaged the hood and windshield of a Honda Civic that was traveling south on Lawrence Road (Route 206) near Cold Soil Road about 11:10 a.m. on Monday, April 9. The car’s driver, a 41-year-old woman from Trenton, was not injured, Edgar said, adding that damage was estimated at about $800.

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Theft

A 16-year-old girl from Readington reported to police at 4:35 p.m. on Monday, April 9, that her cell phone – worth about $200 – was stolen after she put it down for a moment while shopping at the Forever 21 store at Quaker Bridge Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1), Edgar said. Officer Robert Loveless was assigned the investigation.

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Theft

At 8:29 p.m. on Monday, April 9, a 60-year-old Hamilton Township man notified police that a travel bag had been stolen from his car at the Lawrence Shopping Center in the 2400 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1). The man had left the Chrysler 300 unlocked while he ran into the Burlington Coat Factory store for about 15 minutes, Edgar said. The stolen bag contained a blood glucose monitor, hearing aids, about $25 in cash, and other personal items. Officer Iwona Smith is investigating.

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Fraud

At 10:10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 10, a Florence Township man reported to police that someone had fraudulently removed $2,000 from an account he had opened at the CitiBank branch located at Mercer Mall, Edgar said. Detective James Smith is working with CitiBank officials to investigate the crime, he said.

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Theft

A 66-year-old woman from Mount Laurel who is employed at the Diocese of Trenton’s offices in the 700 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206) called police to her workplace at 2:47 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10, to report that some personal checks had been stolen from her bag, Edgar said. He said Officer Lauren Laux was assigned the investigation.

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Criminal Mischief

Officer Sean Kerins is investigating an act of criminal mischief in which someone slashed one of the tires on a 2007 Hyundai Elantra parked in the 800 block of Spruce Street sometime between the evening of Wednesday, April 11, and the morning of Thursday, April 12, Edgar said. He said the car’s owner, a 35-year-old woman who lives on Spruce Street, reported the crime at 9:12 a.m. on April 12.

*   *   *

Theft

Officer Iwona Smith is working to identify a woman who fled without paying after she received $20 worth of gas at the Quick Chek at the Brunswick Traffic Circle, Edgar said. He said the woman was driving a black sport utility vehicle. The crime was reported at 7:41 p.m. on Thursday, April 12.

*   *   *

Theft

At 7:48 a.m. on Friday, April 13, Officer Shawn Sudol was assigned to investigate the theft of a steel grate from a storm drain along the Trenton Freeway (Route 1) in the area of Whitehead Road, Edgar said. He said several other storm drain grates were reportedly stolen from Route 1 in Trenton.

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Theft

Officer Richard Laird III is investigating the theft of 25 bundles of roof shingles – worth about $1,000 – and an 8-foot piece of aluminum gutter from the yard of a residence in the 800 block of Spruce Street, Edgar said. The crime was reported at 11:55 a.m. on Friday, April 13.

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Criminal Mischief

A 24-year-old man from Flemington called police at 12:16 a.m. on Saturday, April 14, to report that someone had smashed one of the windows of his 2004 Nissan Sentra while it was parked outside the Applebees Grill and Bar in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1). The crime took place while the man was inside the restaurant between 10:30 p.m. and midnight, Edgar said, noting that damage was estimated at $400.

 

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 Monday, April 9, through Sunday, April 15, 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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