Crime & Safety

Police Blotter: Prostitution, DUI, Drug Arrests Made

Here's a roundup of notable police activity in Lawrence Township from Sept. 10 through Sept. 12.

Prostitution

Shirley Barbedo, 43, of Newark was arrested about 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11, at the Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge in the 2900 block of Route 1 (Brunswick Pike) and charged with engaging in prostitution and promoting prostitution, according to Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry.

An undercover officer, responding to a suspicious advertisement that police spotted online, arranged to meet Barbedo at the motel, he said, explaining that Barbedo was taken into custody after she allegedly offered the undercover officer sex in exchange for money.

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Motor Vehicle Theft

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At 6:56 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 10, employees of a Ringoes-based construction company notified police that sometime between the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 7, and the morning of Sept 10 someone stole a 1996 Mack dump truck and an Eager Beaver trailer from a work site in the 3200 block of Route 1 (Brunswick Pike), Ubry said.

He said the dump truck was valued at $30,000 and the trailer at $21,000. After Lawrence police entered information about the dump truck and trailer into a national law enforcement database containing data on stolen vehicles, they were informed that both the truck and the trailer had recently been found abandoned in Franklin Township, Somerset County, he said.

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Assault

Lawrence Township police are investigating a 12-year-old Lawrence Middle School student’s allegation that, while they were at school, he was punched in the left eye and, after he fell to the ground, was kicked by two or more 13-year-old boys with whom he had been having an ongoing dispute, Ubry said. He said police were notified of the alleged assault at 5:37 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 12.

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Drug Possession

Nicholas M. Foti, 19, of Beechwood Drive, Robbinsville, and Christian J. Nemeth, 20, of San Marco Street, West Windsor, were each charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams after they were arrested about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, Ubry said. Foti was also charged with possession of marijuana possession, he added.

Sgt. Tim Drew was on patrol when he spotted two parked vehicles occupied by several people in a dark area of Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park, off Carnegie Road, Ubry said. He said Drew approached the vehicles and allegedly detected an odor of marijuana. He said Foti and Nemeth were arrested after further investigation revealed a quantity of marijuana.

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Marijuana Found

At 7:45 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 10, Lawrence Township police were notified that Rider University security officers had found a small baggie containing about 1 gram of suspected marijuana on a soccer field on the campus, Ubry said. He said it was unknown to whom the marijuana belonged.

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Theft

Sometime between Friday, Sept. 7, and Monday, Sept. 10, someone stole the tailgate – valued at $1,200 – from a 1996 pickup parked at the Coleman Buick GMC Cadillac dealership on Renaissance Boulevard, Ubry said. He said the vehicle is owned by a customer who lives in Ewing Township.

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Criminal Mischief

A 77-year-old resident of Fieldcrest Court reported to police that sometime during the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 10, someone caused about $150 in damage to patio furniture on his property, Ubry said, noting that a glass table was smashed and an umbrella removed from its stand.

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, Sept. 10, through Wednesday, Sept. 12, 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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