Police Blotter: Undercover Operation Yields Prostitution Arrests

Prostitution

Two women were each charged with prostitution after they were arrested at the Red Roof Inn on Friday, April 6, following an undercover operation conducted by Lawrence Township police, according to police spokesman Lt. Charles Edgar.

He said township police routinely monitor websites where advertisements offering illegal services are often posted. “While monitoring one of these sites we came across one [advertisement] that appeared to be located in Lawrence Township,” he said. “We conducted an undercover operation where the undercover officer contacted the suspects and arranged a meeting.”

That meeting took place in a room at the Red Roof Inn in the 3200 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1).

“The undercover officer was able to negotiate a deal with the suspects for a sexual act in exchange for money,” Edgar said. As soon as the women agreed to the deal, he said, backup officers entered the motel room and took the women into custody.

Millicent Moye Mozingo, 29, of the 200 block of Jacobstown-New Egypt Road, Wrightstown, and Tiffany M. Scaletti, 24, of the 100 block of Hancock Street, Trenton, were each charged with prostitution, Edgar said.

He said Scaletti was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a hypodermic needle. She was also found to be wanted in connection with two outstanding warrants from Trenton worth a total of $4,700, as well as a $1,000 warrant from Eastampton and a $500 warrant from Galloway Township.

Police also stopped and questioned a man who was riding as a passenger in the vehicle used by Mozingo and Scaletti, Edgar said. He said that man, Kevin Barnes, 41, of Hancock Street, Trenton, was taken into custody after he was found to be wanted in connection with a $3,500 warrant from Trenton.

Similar prostitution arrested took place at the Red Roof Inn in , and

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Theft

Thirty minivans and pickup trucks at Lawrence Toyota had their catalytic converters cut off and stolen sometime in late March, according to Edgar. He said it was 11:21 a.m. on Friday, March 30, when police were notified of the crime at the auto dealership in the 2800 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1). The stolen catalytic converters had a total value of about $45,000, he said, noting that the investigation is continuing.

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Receiving Stolen Property

Three people were arrested and charged with receiving stolen property after an alert township police officer allegedly spotted the trio in a stolen car at Quaker Bridge Mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1) on Friday, April 6, Edgar said.

He said Officer Sean Kerins spotted the 1991 Toyota Corolla parked illegally in the fire lane outside the Sears store about 5:20 p.m. The car was just starting to pull away from the fire lane when Kerins, having initiated a check of the number on the Toyota’s license plates, discovered the number did not match up with the car’s description in the state’s motor vehicle registration database.

Kerins stopped the vehicle. Further investigation revealed that the license plates were “fictitious” and that the Toyota had been reported stolen recently from Hamilton Township, Edgar said.

The driver, David N. Kollie, 40, of Adella Avenue, Hamilton, and his passengers, 24-year-old Celestine Sengbloh of South Clinton Avenue, Trenton, and 21-year-old Munah Doekieh of Busleton Avenue, Philadelphia, were all arrested and charged with receiving stolen property, Edgar said.

He said Kollie was also charged with operating an unregister vehicle, operating a vehicle with fictitious, and illegally parking in a fire lane.

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Drug Offense

A 15-year-old Lawrence High School student was arrested about 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 5, and charged with possession of under 50 grams of marijuana, Edgar said. He said school administrators “conducted a search of the male student’s book bag in reference to an internal school matter” and called police after allegedly finding the drugs in the bag.

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Theft

About $1,000 in property and cash belonging to three male students – including an iPhone and an iPod – were stolen from book bags that the students had placed in a gym locker room office at Lawrence High School, Edgar said. He said Officer Iwona Smith is investigating the crime, which was reported to police at 1:46 p.m. on Thursday, April 5.

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Theft

Officer Robert Loveless is investigating the theft of a purse from an unlocked vehicle parked outside the Morris Hall assisted living and nursing home located behind the St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center in the 2300 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206), Edgar said. He said the 2007 GMC Denali had been left unlocked by its owner, a 48-year-old woman from Allentown, N.J., who works at the facility. The purse contained $50 in cash, credit cards and personal items. The crime was reported just before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 28, and is believed to have taken place between about 6:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. that day.

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Theft

Two BMX-style bicycles – one black, the other silver – worth a combined $850 were stolen from the McDonald’s restaurant at the Brunswick Traffic Circle shortly before 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 29, Edgar said. He said a 15-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy had left the bicycles unsecured outside while they went into the restaurant. He said Officer Iwona Smith is working to identify four suspects in the theft who were described as:

• a white male, 17 to 25 years old, with a medium build, wearing a striped white and gray long-sleeved shirt with “87” written on the back;
• a white male, 17 to 25 years old, with a medium build and dark hair, wearing a black and white plaid jacket and a red shirt;
• a black male, 17 to 25 years old, with a medium build and short black hair, wearing a gray short-sleeved T-shirt with a New York Yankees emblem on it; and
• a black male, 17 to 25 years old, with a medium build, wearing a white hooded sweatshirt with “87” written on it.

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Theft

An iPod valued at $200 and $5 in cash were stolen from the backpack of a 14-year-old student at Lawrence High School on Friday, March 30, Edgar said. He said the girl had left the backpack in a locker at the school. The theft is believed to have taken place between 3 and 5 p.m. Officer Chris Schuster is investigating.

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Theft

A 54-year-old woman from Mays Landing called police at 9:33 a.m. on Saturday, March 31, to report that her purse – which contained her bank card, cell phone and other personal items – had been stolen from the student center at Rider University, Edgar said. The woman told police she had left the purse unattended at a table and returned a short time later to find it gone. Officer Adam Kowalczyk was assigned the investigation.

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Animal Bite

At 5:41 a.m. on Friday, March 30, a 44-year-old resident of Putnam Avenue called police to report that his dog had been bitten on one of its legs by a black cat that had entered his yard, Edgar said. The wound was superficial and was cleaned by the dog’s owner, he said, adding that the matter was forwarded by the police department to the township’s health department and animal control officer for further investigation.

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Criminal Mischief

Officer Mark Harmon is investigating an act of criminal mischief in which someone tossed a bottle that shattered the rear window of a 1995 Toyota Camry as it was driving around the Brunswick Traffic Circle about 4:15 p.m. on Friday, March 30, Edgar said. The car’s 28-year-old driver was not hurt, he said. Damage was estimated at $200.

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Theft

At 10:08 a.m. on Saturday, March 31, a New Jersey Transit bus driver went to the Lawrence Township police substation at Quaker Bridge Mall to hand over a wallet that he had found on his bus. The wallet belonged to a 22-year-old Trenton man. While the owner’s identification and credit cards were still in the wallet, $40 in cash had been stolen, Edgar said.

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Criminal Mischief

Officer Hector Nieves was sent to Colonial Lake Park at 4:08 p.m. on Sunday, April 1, to investigate after police received a report that a “lewd” picture and other graffiti had been drawn with chalk on the playground, Edgar said. He said the graffiti was washed away by township public works employees.

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Theft

At 5:21 p.m. on Wednesday, April 4, a 21-year-old resident of the Meadow Woods apartment complex in the 400 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206) reported that about $900 in cash had been stolen from his apartment, Edgar said. He said Officer Daniel Gladney and township detectives are investigating the circumstances of the theft.

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Criminal Mischief

Officer Iwona Smith is investigation an act of criminal mischief in which someone kicked and shattered the glass door of the CBM Institute in the 1300 block of Brunswick Avenue, Edgar said. He said the crime was reported at 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 5. Damage was estimated at $450.

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Theft

At 2:25 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, a 59-year-old resident of Carver Place reported to police that two hub caps and a Toyota emblem were stolen from her 2002 Toyota Camry sometime between 2 p.m. on April 6 and about 2:20 p.m. that afternoon, Edgar said. He said the items had an estimated value of about $50.

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Theft

A 21-year-old Lawrence Township woman called police at 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, and reported that her wallet – containing her driver’s license, a credit card and about $70 in cash – was either lost or stolen while she was at Burlington Coat Factory in Lawrence Shopping Center in the 2400 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1), according to Edgar.

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, March 28, through Sunday, April 8, 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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