Traffic Issues Expected With Rider Graduations

Commencement ceremonies to be held Thursday and Friday

With undergraduate and graduate students taking part in commencement ceremonies this week Rider University is advising motorists to use caution when driving on Route 206 on Thursday and Friday.  A statement from the university said due to the "expected high volume of visitors and vehicle traffic," on the road in front of the Lawrenceville campus there could be delays until 5 p.m. on Thursday and until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.  For Thursday's commencement for graduate and continuing studies students on Thursday the main and south entrance gates will be closed from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The commencement will begin at 5 p.m. and the main exit will be closed to outgoing traffic from 5:30 to 9 p.m.  Driving on campus will also be limited as …

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Police Blotter

Police Blotter: Traffic Stop Leads to DUI Charges

In other recent Lawrence Township police news, a burglary at the Extra Space Storage facility is under investigation.

Driving Under the Influence Nelson Melgar-Donis, 30, of Puritan Avenue, Lawrence Township, was arrested about 1:20 a.m. Friday, March 22, and charged with driving under the influence, DUI in a school zone, reckless driving, and failure to maintain a lane after the vehicle he was operating was stopped on Princeton Avenue by Officer Andres Mejia, according to Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry. He said Mejia initiated the traffic stop after observing Melgar-Donis’s vehicle abruptly slow while negotiating the Brunswick Circle and then cross over the road’s double-yellow line while traveling on Brunswick Circle Extension. Melgar-Donis was taken into custody after he performed poorly on field sobriety tests, he said. *   *   * …

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Woman Hurt as Thief Steals Her Cell Phone at QB Mall

The 23-year-old was texting when a man approached her from behind and grabbed her phone. It was the second such crime to occur at Quaker Bride Mall in Lawrence Township in the past week and a half.

A Pennsylvania woman suffered multiple injuries while trying – unsuccessfully – to retrieve her cellular phone from the man who stole it from her while she was at Quaker Bridge Mall Wednesday (March 27), Lawrence Township police confirmed. The 23-year-old from Levittown, Pa., suffered multiple bruises and abrasions to her hands, knees, elbow and left hip from being knocked to the ground during the robbery and then, after chasing after the thief, by being dragged along the pavement a short distance while trying to get into the thief’s getaway vehicle as it sped away, according to police. It was the second such crime to occur at the mall on Route 1 in Lawrence Township in the past week and a half. Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry said…

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SHSB

8:14 am on Monday, April 1, 2013

Agree 100%. As a matter of fact, I was just saying this exact same thing to my husband. I frequently shop at QM Mall, but if they can't do anything about this--like maybe posting undercover security at the bus port, for starters--then it's not worth risking having my phone stolen and/or getting hurt. Shopping online provides none of these risks. There have been repeated robberies at Michael Kors …   more ›

Police Blotter

Police: Drunk Driver Hit Pole, Caused Power Outage

In other recent Lawrence Township crime news, police are investigating an attempted burglary at Al’s Service Station on Route 206.

Driving Under the Influence A one-car crash that knocked out electrical service to homes and businesses in the Franklin Corner Road area for some time during the pre-dawn hours of Friday, March 15, resulted in drunk driving charges being filed against the driver, according to Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry. It was shortly before 2:40 a.m. when Officer Ryan Dunn – having, while on patrol, observed that power was out to the traffic lights at the intersection of Route 1 and Franklin Corner Road – began to search the surrounding area for a transformer fire or other problem that would explain the electrical outage, Ubry said. He said Dunn soon came upon the scene of the accident in the 100 block of Franklin Corner Road in …

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Vehicle Hits House After Driver Steps on Wrong Pedal

Lawrence Township police said the 51-year-old Trenton woman - who did not have a valid driver's license - was trying to make a U-turn on Betts Avenue when she stepped on her vehicle’s accelerator instead of the brake.

An unlicensed motorist whose vehicle veered off the road and struck a house on Betts Avenue told police she stepped on the wrong pedal, according to Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry. He said Hawa Brown, 51, of Dexter Street, Trenton, told police she was attempting to make a U-turn on Betts Avenue when she stepped on her vehicle’s accelerator instead of the brake about 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20. The vehicle left the roadway, struck the side of a house, hit a fence and a tree, and finally came to rest on the property of a neighboring residence, Ubry said. He said Brown and her passenger – a 46-year-old man – suffered lacerations to their faces and other minor injuries and were transported by ambulance to Capital Health…

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Man Snatched Phone from Mall Shopper, Police Say

Lawrence Township police are working to identify a man who stole an iPhone from the hand of a woman as she was walking in Quaker Bridge Mall last week.

Lawrence Township police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a man who fled after snatching a cellular phone from a shopper at Quaker Bridge Mall on Route 1 last week. The victim, a 50-year-old resident of Edison, told police she was talking on her iPhone while walking in the area of the mall’s center court when the man ran up from behind, grabbed the phone out of her hand and fled shortly before 1:20 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, according to township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry. The thief was described as a black male, 18 to 20 years old, 6 feet to 6 feet 5 inches tall, 120 to 130 pounds, wearing a black hooded jacket, blue jeans and sneakers, Ubry said. He said the thief was last seen exiting the mall in the area of the bus port…

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Police Charge Man With Burglary & Attempted Break-In

Lawrence Township police allege Trevor Cavanaugh, 26, of Poillon Court in the Lawrence Square Village development, stole a computer and jewlery from one home and tried unsuccessfully to burglarize a second residence.

A Lawrence Township man – 26-year-old Trevor Cavanaugh of Poillon Court in the Lawrence Square Village development – was arrested earlier this week on charges alleging he burglarized one residence and tried to break into second home on Poillon Court, Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry confirmed. He said Cavanaugh was taken into custody on Monday (March 18) by Detectives William Chester and David Burns and charged with two counts of burglary and one count of theft. Police alleged that Cavanaugh forced open the front door of a residence on Poillon Court on March 12 after residents left for the day around 7:30 a.m. and stole an Apple MacBook Pro computer and assorted jewelry, Ubry said. He said Cavanaugh is also suspected of …

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Police Blotter

Police Blotter: Traffic Stop Leads to Drug Arrest

Also recently in Lawrence Township, a woman was arrested after she was found at a Route 1 motel with a car that had been reported stolen from Trenton, police said.

Drug Offense Nicco Baumann, 18, of Totowa was charged with possession of prescription medication without a prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia and underage possession of alcohol, and his passenger, Robert Gilrain, 18, of Wayne was charged with underage possession of alcohol after the vehicle being driven by Baumann was stopped by police about 9:45 p.m. on Friday, March 8, according to Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry. Officer Ryan Dunn initiated the traffic stop after observing Baumann drive through the painted median along Lawrence Road (Route 206) prior to turning into the south entrance of Rider University, Ubry said. During the stop, he said, Dunn observed a 30-pack of beer in the back of the vehicle. With …

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Computer, Jewelry Stolen During Poillon Court Burglary

The residential break-in occurred on Tuesday at the Lawrence Square Village development.

Lawrence Township police are investigating a residential burglary that occurred on Tuesday, March 12, on Poillon Court in the Lawrence Square Village development, township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry confirmed. He said the crime was reported at 2:52 p.m. on Tuesday after residents arrived home to find their front door had been forced open. The break-in took place that day sometime after the residents went out about 7:30 a.m., Ubry said. Stolen were an Apple MacBook Pro computer valued at $1,300 and assorted jewelry the value of which has not yet been calculated, he said. Detective James Smith is leading the investigation. Police ask anyone with information about the crime to call them at (609) 896-1111.

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