Police Blotter: Sexting in a School, Drug Arrest at a University, and Lots of Mall Crime Keep Cops Busy

Lawrence Township police launched an investigation into a case of sexting – the sending of a sexually explicit message by cell phone – at Lawrence Middle School on Tuesday, Feb. 8, after school administrators learned that a male student had allegedly sent a photo of his genitalia to his girlfriend – also a student at the school – by way of another female classmate’s cell phone, according to Lt. Charles Edgar, a police department spokesman.

He said the girlfriend had asked her friend if she could borrow the phone in order to receive a photo from the boyfriend, but the girlfriend told police she was not expecting to receive that type of photo. Edgar said the three students are all 14 years of age or younger. He said the matter remains under investigation by Detective Scott Caloiaro.

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Drug Arrest

It was 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 10, when Sgt. Tim Drew stopped a vehicle that was traveling on Brunswick Pike, near Bakers Basin Road, because its windows were tinted in violation of state law and did not appear to have a license plate on either its front or rear, Edgar said.

Upon approaching the vehicle, Drew allegedly smelled an odor of burnt marijuana, Edgar said, adding that a small amount of marijuana was then found in the car. After she allegedly claimed the drugs belong to her, the passenger – Banasa Antionette Kennedy, 19, of Trenton – was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, he said.

The car’s driver, Maurice Akee McKinney, 18, of Trenton, was charged with numerous motor vehicle violations, including operating a vehicle with a suspended driver’s license and operating a vehicle bearing a fictitious New Jersey inspection sticker, Edgar said. A temporary license plate affixed to the vehicle’s rear window – but which was not clearly visible because of the window tint – was also found to be fictitious and McKinney was also charged with that offense, Edgar said.

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Investigation

Officer Michael Whitmore and Detective Robert Potter are investigating an incident that took place at the PNC Bank branch on Lawrence Road (Route 206) about noon on Friday, Feb. 11, in which a man allegedly became irate after bank tellers told him they could not cash his check because he did not have proper identification with him. As he storm out of the bank, the man allegedly made comments indicating he “wanted to do harm” to the tellers, Edgar said.

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Criminal Mischief

At 4:56 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12, township police received a phone call from a 42-year-old woman from East Brunswick who reported that she had just arrived home and found about $200 worth of damage to the passenger’s side rear door of her 2003 Lexus. The woman believed the damage had been caused by a BB or pellet that had been shot at her car while she was driving along Federal City Road, near Interstate 95, in Lawrence earlier that day.

Edgar said the woman told police she heard a “loud bang” and felt something hit the side of her car while she was driving on Federal City Road, but she did not want to stop until she got home. Edgar said Ewing police received a report about similar damage to another vehicle in that area. Police searched the area but did not locate any suspects. He said the crime remains under investigation by Officer Daniel Gladney.

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Thefts

Edgar released details of the following recent thefts that Lawrence Township police are investigating:

• A 43-year-old woman from Stockton called police at 8:48 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 11, to report that she had accidentally forgotten her $300 iPod Touch on a table at Joe’s Crab Shack. Once she realized she had left the iPod behind, she returned to the restaurant on Brunswick Pike (Route 1) but found someone had already taken the device.
• At 9:16 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13 a resident of the 1400 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206) reported the theft of about $5 in loose change from two vehicles that had been left unlocked.
• At 12:58 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13, a resident of Helen Avenue reported that about $6 in change had been stolen from two vehicles that had been left unlocked.
• An 18-year-old woman who works at Claire’s Boutique at Quaker Bridge Mall called police at 8:19 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13, to report that her wallet – containing cash and a Visa credit card – had been stolen from her purse, which she had left in a back room at the store while she worked.
• A 15-year-old student at Lawrence High School notified police at 10:09 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 14, that her $300 iPod had been stolen from her book bag, which had been in an unsecured locker room at the school.
• At 10:10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 14, officials at Lawrence High School informed Detective Dave Burns that a projector and assorted cables – worth a total of $2,500 – had been stolen from a classroom sometime between Dec. 20, 2010 and Jan. 3. The school had been conducting its own internal investigation into the disappearance of the property but finally decided to report it to police as having been stolen.
• At 12:26 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 14, police were alerted to the theft of $1,400 worth of property – a GPS unit, radar detector and an iPod – from an unlocked vehicle parked on Winthrop Road.
• A $76 New Jersey Transit bus pass was stolen from a desk at an office of the state Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) in the 3100 block of Princeton Pike. Police were notified of the theft at 2:16 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 14.
• At 5:40 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 14, a resident of Slack Avenue reported to police that $3,200 worth of assorted jewelry was missing from a safe in her home. She told police she believed the jewelry was stolen sometime on Feb. 12. Police found no evidence of forced entry to the home.

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Shoplifting

Natqwan T. Cameron, 32, of the 500 block of Brunswick Avenue, Trenton, and Tiffany L. Valle, 23, of the 600 block of West State Street, Trenton, were arrested and charged with shoplifting about 6:10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12, Edgar said. He said the pair tried to flee after they were allegedly observed trying to steal merchandise from the Macy’s department store at Quaker Bridge Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1).

Cameron was chased through the mall and eventually caught by Sgt. Chris Longo, Edgar said. He said Valle drove off in a pickup truck but that vehicle was pulled over within minutes by other officers and she was taken in custody.

Two passengers in the pickup were not charged with the shoplifting but were taken into custody because they were wanted in connection with outstanding warrants from Trenton, Edgar said. He said Leroy James, 49, of Trenton was wanted on a warrant worth $1,039 in bail, while Monique L. Rock, 35, of Trenton, was wanted on a $1,250 warrant.

Officers Shaun Sexton, Daniel Gladney and Shawn Carroll assisted with the arrests.

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Shopliftings

Edgar said the following individuals were charged recently with shoplifting:

• Miguel A. Gonzalez, 35, of Wert Avenue, Hamilton, was arrested about 12:40 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12, after he allegedly left the Sears department store with a pair of $140 boot inserts for which he had not paid. Gonzalez allegedly hid the inserts inside a pair of boots that he purchased. He was stopped by Sears security guards after he exited the store.
• Tejalben Patel, 26, and Meenaven Patel, 53, both of the 200 block of Fountayne Lane in Lawrence, were arrested about 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13, after they allegedly left the Sears department store at Quaker Bridge Mall with jewelry they had not purchased hidden in their purses. Tajalben allegedly had $26 worth of stolen merchandise in her purse, while Meenaven allegedly had $64 worth of stolen jewelry in her purse.
• Catherine Damelio, 20, of Montgomery, was arrested about 2:40 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 13, after she allegedly walked out of the J.C. Penney department store at Quaker Bridge Mall with multiple pairs of earrings – worth a total of $60 – for which she had not paid. She allegedly removed the earrings from their packaging and hid them in her sweatshirt pocket.
• Asia Brown, 33, was arrested at 5:10 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 14, after she allegedly exited the Lord & Taylor department store at Quaker Bridge Mall with four pairs of sunglasses – worth a total of $392 – that she had not purchased. Store security guards told police Brown was seen entering a fitting room with the glasses and then exiting without them. The glasses were allegedly found hidden in her purse after she left the store.
• A 17-year-old girl from Trenton whose name was withheld because she is a juvenile was arrested about 8:50 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 14, after she allegedly passed by all the sales registers and walked out of the J.C. Penney department store at Quaker Bridge Mall with $100 worth of stolen clothing – underwear, jeans and a shirt – hidden in her purse.

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Shoplifting

A yet-to-be-identified man fled in a vehicle after stealing $121 worth of vitamins from the CVS Pharmacy at Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) and Cherry Tree Lane shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 10. Officer Robert Wagner is working to identify the thief.

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, Feb. 10, through Monday, Feb. 14, 2011, can be downloaded 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.)