Police Blotter: Stop of Stolen Car Yields Arrest

Receiving Stolen Property

Davonne Carmichael, 21, of Race Street, Trenton, was arrested about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 3, and charged with receiving stolen property after he was caught driving a stolen car, according to Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry.

Officer Suzanne Girard was on patrol when she conducted a random registration check of a car traveling in the area of Princeton Avenue and Mulberry Street.  After the check revealed that the vehicle had been reported stolen from Trenton, Girard followed the car as it turned onto Mulberry Street and then onto Stratton Place.

At the dead end of Stratton Place, the driver of the stolen Kia – later identified as Carmichael – was ordered out of the car and taken into custody by Girard, Ubry said. 

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Burglary

Detective Todd Caruso is investigating the theft of $16,750 worth of jewelry from a bedroom in a home in the 200 block of Fountayne Lane, Ubry said, adding that the crime is believed to have occurred between 10:30 a.m. and noon on Friday, Jan. 4. He said a resident called police at 12:08 p.m. that day after she returned home and found that the sliding door at the rear of the residence was open.  A search of the home revealed the jewelry to be missing.

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Prostitution

Zhenyu Gong, 44, of Flushing, N.Y., was arrested about 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 9, and charged with engaging in prostitution and promoting prostitution after she allegedly offered an undercover officer sex in exchange for money in a room at the Red Roof Inn in the 3200 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1), Ubry said.

He said the undercover officer, in response to a suspicious advertisement police found online, arranged to meet the suspect at the motel. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials assisted with the arrest, he said.

Police made similar arrests at the Red Roof Inn and Howard Johnson Motor Lodge, in the 2900 block of Brunswick Pike, last year on Oct. 9, Sept. 20, Sept. 11, July 12, July 5, April 6, and Jan. 13.

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Driving Under the Influence

Mark Uyguangco, 24, of Independence Avenue, Hamilton Township, was arrested about 1:35 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 4, and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, and other offenses, Ubry said.

Uyguangco’s vehicle was stopped by Officer Andrew Lee after Lee observed it traveling along Whitehead Road at a “high rate of speed” and drifting out of its lane of travel, Ubry said. He said Uyguangco was taken into custody after he performed poorly on field sobriety tests.

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Driving Under the Influence

John Marshall, 60, of Lily Lane, Ewing Township, was arrested about 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 8, and charged with driving under the influence and four other offenses, Ubry said.

Sgt. Chris Longo initiated a traffic stop after observing Marshall’s vehicle traveling along Lawrence Road (Route 206) at a high speed and crossing over the road’s double yellow line after turning onto Eggerts Crossing Road, Ubry said, noting that Marshall was taken into custody after he performed poorly on field sobriety tests.

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Driving Under the Influence

Golam Chowdhury, 26, of Charlottesville, Va., was arrested about 7 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 6, and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, failing to maintain a lane, and driving with a suspended license after the vehicle he was operating crashed into another vehicle parked along the 2600 block of Princeton Pike, Ubry said.

Chowdhury, who was taken into custody following his poor performance in field sobriety tests, complained of knee pain after the crash but declined medical attention, he said.

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Driving Under the Influence

Hilbert L. Espina-Martinez, 26, of Jonathon Dayton Court, Princeton, was arrested about 4 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 7, and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, speeding, and related offenses, Ubry said. He said Officer Scott Stein, conducting radar traffic enforcement, stopped Espina-Martinez’s vehicle after observing it traveling along Princeton Avenue doing 43 mph in a 25 mph zone. 

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Theft / Burglary

Eleven catalytic converters – worth an estimated $5,500 – were removed from 10 trucks parked at the Hub Leasing property in the 2800 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1) sometime between 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 30, and 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 2, according to Ubry. A number of items including jumper cables and an axe were also stolen from some of the trucks. An unlocked storage shed on the property was also entered but nothing was taken, he said.

Another catalytic converter, worth $200, was cut off a vehicle at the adjacent Jammer Door business in the 2800 block of Brunswick Pike sometime between 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 31, and 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 2, Ubry said.  He said the crimes remain under investigation by Detective James Smith.

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Theft

At 3:44 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 4, a Hamilton Township resident called police to report that someone had smashed out the front driver’s side window of her car and stolen a $200 GPS unit while the vehicle was parked in Lot J of Quaker Bridge Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1) between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. that day, according to Ubry.

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Theft

A flat screen television worth $400 was stolen from a Nissan while the vehicle was parked behind a business in the 1800 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) between 8 p.m. and about 8:40 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 4, Ubry said, noting that the thief smashed out the rear driver’s side window of the Nissan.

He said a Honda parked nearby also had its rear driver’s side window broken out, but nothing of value was stolen.

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Theft

Between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 7, a GPS unit worth $200 was stolen from a 2002 Saab that had its driver’s side window smashed out while it was parked at Gold’s Gym in the 4100 block of Quakerbridge Road, Ubry said. He said the vehicle’s owner is a Pennington resident.

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 Wednesday, Jan. 2, through Thursday, Jan. 10, 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.