Police Blotter: Tools, Food Taken in Separate Burglaries

Burglary

At 8:24 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 31, Lawrence Township police were called to the state Motor Vehicle Commission’s Bakers Basin facility in the 3200 block of Route 1 (Brunswick Pike) to investigate the theft of more than $4,200 worth of tools and equipment from an office trailer and two cargo containers belonging to Dandrea Construction, the contractor responsible for building the MVC’s  new office on the site, according to police department spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry.

He said someone cut the locks to gain entry to the trailer and containers. The crime is believed to have taken place sometime after noon on Tuesday, Oct. 30. Detective Kevin Reading Jr. and Officer James Vandanega are leading the investigation.

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Burglary

Sometime between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3, food supplies and employees’ clothing – worth about $150 – were stolen from an unlocked storage shed behind Enzo’s La Piccola Cucina restaurant in the 1900 block of Princeton Avenue, Ubry said. The crime was reported to police at 10:18 p.m. that night. Officer Michael Smith is investigating.

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Burglary

At 5:29 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28, a resident of Devon Avenue reported to police that someone had stolen a lawnmower, a power washer and a container filled with gasoline – worth an estimated total of $520 – from his shed sometime after noon that day, Ubry said, noting that the thief pried away a hasp to get inside the shed. Officer James Vandanega is investigating.

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Attempted Burglary

Police were called to a property on Federal Point Boulevard at 4:56 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, after a resident found evidence suggesting that someone had tried to force open a first-floor window, Ubry said. While the screen was damaged and there was dirt on the carpet below the window, it did not appear that the would-be burglar ever got inside the home, he said.  

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Motor Vehicle Theft

At 9:04 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, a resident of Princeton Pike notified police that his 2000 BMW had been stolen sometime after 11 p.m. the night before, according to Ubry. He said the owner told police the vehicle had been unlocked, with a set of keys left in the glove box.   

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Drug Offense

Kieran R. Duffy, an 18-year-old Rider University student from Plainfield, was arrested about 7:15 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, and charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia after he was allegedly caught with two hand-rolled marijuana cigars, according to Ubry.

He said Rider security officers, responding to a complaint about an odor of marijuana coming from a room in the Ziegler dormitory on the campus on Route 206 (Lawrence Road), allegedly found Duffy with the drugs and called police.

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Drug Offense

Emre Thomas Karatas, 19, of Lansdale, Pa., was arrested about noon on Saturday, Nov. 3, and charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams, underage possession of alcohol, possession of false identification, obstruction and littering, Ubry said. He said Officer Andres Mejia was on patrol, stopped for a red traffic light at Lawrenceville-Pennington Road and Route 206, when he observed Karatas allegedly stagger across a nearby parking lot and toss a plastic water bottle on the ground.

Mejia stopped to investigate and allegedly found Karatas to be in an intoxicated condition, Ubry said, adding that the bottle that Karatas discarded was found with traces of alcohol in it. He said Karatas showed the officer a fraudulent Maryland driver’s license when he was asked for identification, and a marijuana joint was also found hidden inside a cigarette pack that was in Karatas’ possession.

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Driving Under the Influence

David Major, 23, was charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving after his car – while backing out of the driveway of his own home on Puritan Avenue – struck a neighbor’s parked vehicle shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28, according to Ubry.

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Drug Offense

Malcolm Huckaby, a 29-year-old Trenton resident, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia after police found him with an alleged crack pipe in the 1700 block of Princeton Avenue about 4:40 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27, Ubry said. The discovery of the pipe came after police took Huckaby into custody in connection with an outstanding warrant, he said.

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Theft

At 4:09 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25, a 14-year-old township resident reported to police that someone had stolen his BMX bicycle – valued at $300 – from Lawrence High School, Ubry said. The teenager told police he last saw the bicycle about 7 o’clock that morning when he arrived for school and left it at the bike rack outside the entrance near the school’s pool.

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Theft

A 65-year-old South Brunswick woman called police at 11:31 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25, to report that sometime earlier that night someone stole her wallet – containing credit cards and other items – from her purse while she was at Houlihan’s restaurant in Mercer Mall on Route 1, Ubry said. He said some of the stolen credit cards were used to make fraudulent purchases at several area businesses.  

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Theft

All four tires and rims – worth a total of over $600 – were stolen from a vehicle parked on Town Court North, Ubry said, noting that the vehicle’s owner reported the crime at 7:40 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24.

See Also:

• Nov. 2: “”
• Nov. 5: “Rash of Vehicle Burglaries Focus of Police Investigation”

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 Tuesday, Oct. 23, through Tuesday, Nov. 6, 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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