Crime & Safety

Trenton Man Charged in Connection With Multiple Burglaries on Betts Ave

The incident happened on Sept. 30.

A 41-year-old Trenton man faces multiple charges after police say he was caught in the act of breaking into a vehicle on Betts Avenue and is connected to a half-dozen other burglaries in the neighborhood.

Sylvester Horton, 41, was charged with robbery, burglary, theft, possession of burglary tools, aggravated assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, unlawful possession of a weapon and making terroristic threats. 

He was sent to Mercer County Corrections Center in lieu of $200,000 cash bail. 

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According to Lawrence Township Police, a 21-year-old Betts Avenue resident returned home around midnight on Monday, Sept. 30 and saw someone inside one of his family's unlocked vehicles. 

That person, later identified as Horton, began getting out of the car. The resident confronted him and said he was going to call the police. That's when he claimed that Horton asked him not to call the police and let him go. The man claimed that Horton pulled out a shiny object, said he was was going to stab him. 

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Horton allegedly began to swing the object, a screwdriver, and struck the victim in the face. Then Horton allegedly grabbed a backpack from the vehicle and started to run. 

The victim yelled for his family members to call the police and then chased Horton to a wooded area and waited until police arrived. 

Police set up a perimeter and found Horton lying in the grass in a ditch. 

The victim refused medical treatment. 

Police say the backpack Horton had contained property from six other vehicle burglaries on Betts Avenue. 

An investigation continues by Det. Caruso. 


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