Police Blotter: Church Office Burglarized, Jewelry Stolen from Home, Student Found With Knife...

Burglary

Lawrence Township police are investigating a burglary that took place at last week.

Lt. Charles Edgar, police department spokesman, said someone forced their way through an interior door leading into the office of the church, which is located 1039 Lawrence Rd. (Route 206). He said it is unclear at this time how the burglar actually got into the church.

Stolen were about $52 worth of stamps and a debit card belonging to the church, Edgar said. He said the crime took place sometime between 10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24, and about 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25.

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Theft 

On Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 25, residents of Colonial Lake Drive called police to report that about $8,000 worth of assorted jewelry had been stolen their home, Edgar said. He said no evidence of a burglary was found and police are investigating if the jewelry had been stolen by someone who had access to the home sometime during the preceding month.

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Weapon Possession

Police were called to Lawrence High School on Tuesday, Oct. 25, after a faculty member found a 15-year-old student with a folding knife with a 3-inch blade, Edgar said. He said the student did not use or threaten anyone with the knife, but he noted that possession of such a weapon is prohibited on school grounds. He said the department’s juvenile detectives are looking into the matter.

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Weapon Incident

Lawrence Township police officers conducted a “high-risk motor vehicle stop” at Mercer Mall after they received a 911 call from someone claiming to have seen a man in a pickup truck holding a “long gun” in the area of the ShopRite supermarket on Sunday, Oct. 23, Edgar said.

Officers caught up with the vehicle near the Bank of America branch in the mall in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1) and ordered the driver and passengers to get out slowly, one at a time, Edgar said. What police found, he said, were some paintball guns and ammunition in the truck. While those items were confiscated by police for further investigation, no weapon charges were filed against any of the men in the truck.

One of the men, however, was charged with disorderly conduct, Edgar said, identifying that individual as Hector Perez, 26, of Leigh Avenue, Princeton.

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Attempted Burglary

At 8:31 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23, residents of Empress Lane notified police that they had discovered evidence - including a broken basement window - that someone had tried to break into the residence sometime over the weekend, Edgar said. He said the would-be burglar never got inside and nothing was stolen.

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Fire  

A small fire caused about $500 worth of damage to the vinyl siding of a first-floor apartment on Town Court South about 3:20 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 24. Edgar said He said the apartment’s 33-year-old resident was roused by a neighbor, who told him that his porch was on fire. The resident was able to extinguish the blaze prior to the arrival of police and firefighters. Edgar said the cause of the fire was believed to be a match the resident had thrown into a trash can earlier that night.

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Driving Under the Influence

Vincenzo A. Lubrano, 18, of Jill Lane, Lawrence, was arrested about 1:25 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, and charged with underage driving under the influence, reckless driving, failure to maintain a lane, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a fraudulent driver’s license, Edgar said.

Officer Chris DiMeglio stopped the 2003 Infinity being driven by Lubrano near the intersection of Lawrence Road (Route 206) and Roxboro Road after following the vehicle and observing it repeatedly drifting over the road’s double yellow line, according to Edgar. While speaking with Lubrano, he said, DiMelgio smelled a slight odor of alcohol and suspected burnt marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.

Based on his performance on field sobriety tests, and the fact that he legally is underage to consume alcohol, Lubrano was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, Edgar said. While no drugs were found, police did locate in the vehicle a glass pipe of the kind commonly used to smoke marijuana, he said.

Edgar said Lubrano was also found to be in possession of a fake California driver’s license, which police spotted when the 18-year-old went to pull out his real New Jersey driver’s license.

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Marijuana Possession

Nicholas Rubio-Marin, 20, a Rider University student from Puerto Rico was arrested on campus about 9:20 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24, and charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia, Edgar said. He said the drugs and paraphernalia were discovered by Rider officials who had gone to Rubio-Marin’s room in the Conover residence hall on an unrelated matter. They, in turn, notified police.

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Theft

At 5:24 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, police were notified of the theft of a $600 Dell laptop computer belonging to the Lawrence Township school district. The computer, which had been issued to a student at Lawrence Middle School, was taken between 2 and 2:15 p.m. that afternoon, Edgar said. He said the student told police he had left the computer behind when switching classes and went back to look for it as soon as he realized he had forgotten it. By then, however, it was gone.

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Theft

At 4:33 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, a resident of Jill Lane contacted police to report that she had fallen victim to an internet scam. The woman told police that she had, between August and October, sent a total of about $16,000 to a man she had met via the dating website Match.com, Edgar said. He said the man, through Internet chats and phone conversations, had gained the woman’s trust and convinced her to wire money on multiple occasions to locations in London and Africa.

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Criminal Mischief/Arson

About 3:20 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, township police and firefighters were alerted that a small cardboard advertising sign was on fire in the 2200 block of Princeton Pike. A patron from Captain Paul’s Firehouse Dogs, located across the street, had extinguished the blaze by the time officers and firefighters arrived, Edgar said. He said bystanders reported seeing several children hanging out near the sign – attached to a stake in the ground – prior to anyone noticing the fire.

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Criminal Mischief

An estimated $1,000 worth of damage was caused to several sections of new sidewalk at Morris Hall off Bishops Drive by someone who rode a bicycle through the wet cement and also wrote in the cement before it hardened, Edgar said. He said the crime took place sometime after 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Police were notified of the criminal mischief at 8:54 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 21.

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Theft

A 38-year-old resident of Mansfield Township called police at 3:33 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24, to report that someone had entered her 2008 Chrysler and stolen the vehicle’s registration and insurance card, Edgar said. The woman told police she parked the vehicle in Lot M of Quaker Bridge Mall, in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1), and went into work about 9:45 a.m.

After leaving work about 3:10 p.m., she realized someone had been in her vehicle when she went to get inside it and found that the driver’s seat had been moved so far back that her feet could no longer reach the pedals, Edgar said. Nothing else appeared to have been stolen and no evidence of forced entry was found.

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Theft

A brown men’s 10-speed bicycle was stolen from the side of a house in the 1100 block of Brunswick Avenue where it had been parked by a 63-year-old Trenton man. The theft of the bike – which was valued at only $20 – was reported to police at 4:16 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24, Edgar said.

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Theft

At 6:56 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, a 35-year-old resident of Puritan Avenue called police to report that someone had smashed out the driver’s window of his 2007 Nissan pickup truck and stolen a GPS unit worth $100, Edgar said. He said the crime happened sometime between 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 and 6:45 a.m. on Oct. 25.

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Theft

At 12:28 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26, a 27-year-old resident of the 1600 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) reported that a man had just stolen a Jeep-brand baby stroller – worth $200 – from the front porch of her home. The man fled with the stroller in a green, four-door 1999 Mercury Mountaineer, Edgar said. A short time later, the same man took two pieces of metal that had been sitting on the front lawn of a home on Lakedale Drive. A detailed description of the man was not available. 

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Theft

A diamond anniversary band valued at $500 was stolen from a residence on Freedom Boulevard sometime between March and October, Edgar said. He said the victim, a 44-year-old man, reported the crime at 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26. He said police are investigating the possibility that the item was stolen by someone who had access to the residence.

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Shoplifting

Two children’s Halloween costumes – one a “Star Wars” outfit and the other a “Seed of Chuck” outfit – were stolen, along with an adult “CSI” costume from the Spirit of Halloween store at Lawrence Shopping Center in the 2400 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) about 4:35 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, Edgar said. He said the male thief stuffed the costumes in a gym bag and fled the store. The combined value of the stolen outfits was about $100, he said.

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Shoplifting

Anywhere between seven and 10 Halloween costumers – valued at between $200 and $300 – were stolen from the Spirit of Halloween store at Lawrence Shopping Center by four women about 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27, Edgar said. He said the women allegedly placed the costumes in a baby stroller one of them was pushing and then left the store without paying. They fled in a “dark sedan” that was last seen heading south on Brunswick Pike. Three of the women were between 19 and 25 years old, while the fourth was described as being in her late 30s or early 40s.

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Criminal Mischief

Police are investigating who spray-painted an expletive onto the side of a white 2007 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck while it was parked at Quaker Bridge Mall on Wednesday, Oct. 26, Edgar said. He said the vehicle’s owner, a 22-year-old resident of Hamilton Township, reported the crime about 6:40 p.m., and damage was estimated at $300.

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 Friday, Oct. 21, through Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, 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.

See Also:

Nov. 1 -

Nov. 1 -

Oct. 28 -

Oct. 28 -

Oct. 26 -

Oct. 25 -

Oct. 24 -

Oct. 24 -

Oct. 23 -

Oct. 18 -

Oct. 8 - More Burglaries Reported, But Police Arrest 2 Suspects

Oct. 3 -

Sept. 30 -

Sept. 27 -

Sept. 27 - Car Worth $148,000 Stolen from Lawrence Dealership

Sept. 27 -

Sept. 26 -          

Sept. 22 -

Sept. 20 -

Sept. 16 - Home on Lawn Park Avenue Burglarized, Ransacked

Sept. 15 - Attempted Burglary at Captain Paul's & Two Other Burglaries Under Investigation by Lawrence PD

Sept. 15 -

Sept. 14 - $10,000 Worth of Property Stolen from Lawrence Twp. Family Left Homeless by Hurricane Irene Flood Waters

Sept. 14 - Stolen Bicycle Found in Possession of 13-Year-Old

Sept. 13 -

Sept. 8 -

Aug. 19 -

Aug. 19 -

Aug. 17 -