Police Blotter: Girls Charged as Suspects in Burglary

Burglary

Two 15-year-old girls from Lawrence Township were charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief after they were allegedly discovered inside a Putnam Avenue home on Sunday afternoon, June 10, and a third juvenile female is still being sought in connection with the break-in, according to Lawrence Township Police Department spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry.

The property in question is a rental home that is currently unoccupied. The owner went to check on the property on June 10 and allegedly discovered three teenage girls inside the house, Ubry said. The woman recognized one of the girls as a former resident, he said, explaining that the girl’s family had been evicted several months earlier for allegedly not paying rent.

The woman called police at 3:50 p.m. to report the crime and notify police that the three girls had just run from the house, Ubry said. He said responding officers located two of the three suspects and took them into custody.

He said the girls allegedly broke into the house through a window. Once inside, he said, they allegedly stole a $50 bottle of liquor and caused damage that included writing on the walls.

Officer Robert Wagner and Detective Dave Burns are working to identify the third girl.  

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Drug Possession

Four men were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams after a Lawrence Township police officer made a routine traffic stop about 12:45 a.m. on Sunday, June 10, according to Ubry.

Officer Richard Laird III was on patrol when he spotted a vehicle “traveling at a high rate of speed and swerving” on Pear Street, Ubry said, noting that the auto also had an equipment violation (a brake light not working).

After initiating the traffic stop near the corner of New York Avenue and Strawberry Street, Laird approached the vehicle and allegedly smelled an odor of marijuana coming from it, Ubry said. Further investigation led to the discovery of marijuana in the vehicle and the arrests of the driver and his three passengers.

Ubry identified the driver as Justin Coleman, 27, of Newark, and the passengers as Chad White, 21, of Newark; Jarrod Coleman, 22, of Irvington; and Tymande Horton, 25, of Hillside.

Jarrod Coleman and Horton were also each charged with hindering for allegedly providing police with false names, he said.

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Lewdness

Officer Thomas Everist and Detective James Smith are working to identify a man who allegedly exposed himself to a woman on Sunday, June 10. Ubry said the woman called police at 9:11 a.m. to report that, while she was walking in the 1300 block of Brunswick Avenue, she was approached by a man who exposed his genitals, made a “crude comment” and urinated on the ground in front of her. The man was described as white, in his 30s with short dark blond hair, about 6 feet 3 inches tall and 230 pounds.

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Drug Possession

Ryan Kidwell, 21, of Sicklerville, was arrested about 3:10 a.m. Monday, June 11, and charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams after he was allegedly seen acting suspiciously by some trees on Quaker Bridge Mall property, Ubry said.

He said Kidwell was spotted and stopped for questioning by a West Windsor police officer who had driven into the mall in his patrol car to make a U-turn. While interviewing Kidwell, West Windsor Officer Christopher VanNess found a jar nearby that allegedly contained the marijuana and he in turn, notified Lawrence Township police, according to Ubry.

Another man who arrived on the scene as Kidwell was being questioned allegedly began cursing at officers and refused to leave when he was ordered by police to do so, Ubry said. He said that man – Christopher Patton, 27, of Temple, Texas – was arrested and charged with obstruction.     

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Motor Vehicle Collision

Lawrence Township volunteer firefighters had to cut the front passenger’s side door off a Mazda CX-9 to free a woman who was trapped inside after the car collided with another vehicle, a Ford Escape, on Whitehead Road on Saturday, June 9. The accident was reported at 3:41 p.m.

Stephanie Traflet, an 18-year-old resident of Denville, was driving the Mazda westbound on Whitehead Road when she tried to make a left turn to enter the entrance ramp for the northbound Route 1 (Trenton Freeway), Ubry said.

In making that turn, he said, Traflet allegedly cut across the path of the oncoming Ford, a PSE&G vehicle that was being driven by utility company worker Charles Miracola, 31, of Westampton, and the Ford struck the passenger’s side of the Mazda.

Neither driver was hurt but the Mazda’s passenger, Kimberlee Smith, 52, of Randolph, was injured and trapped, Ubry said. She was extricated by crews from Slackwood, Lawrence Road and Lawrenceville volunteer fire companies, who cut away the door.

Once freed, she was transported via Lawrence Township ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton to be treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Officer Steve Simon, who investigated the crash, issued the Mazda’s driver, Traflet, a ticket for making an improper turn, according to Ubry.     

(Photos from the accident scene can be found in the media box above.)

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Theft

Police are working to identify a man who stole more than $100 in cash from the attendant of the Shell service station located at the corner of Franklin Corner Road and Brunswick Pike (Route 1) just before midnight the evening on Thursday, June 7.

Ubry said the man arrived at the gas station in a black vehicle and asked to buy some items, including cigarettes. When the attendant pulled a wad of cash from his pocket to make change, he said, the man grabbed the money from the attendant and fled in the vehicle.

He said the man was described as white with black hair, 20 to 25 years old, about 5 feet 6 to 8 inches tall, 150 to 160 pounds, wearing a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers.

The crime is not considered a robbery because no force was used; instead, it is being investigated as a third-degree theft from a person, according to Ubry. Officer Michael Smith and Detective James Smith are investigating.

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Forgery

Dwayne Smith, 44, and Darlene Gawans, 45, both from Newark, were charged with forgery and theft by deception after they were arrested at Quaker Bridge Mall on Brunswick Pike (Route 1) about 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 7, according to Ubry.

The pair allegedly used counterfeit bills to buy about $60 worth of children’s clothing from the Lord & Taylor department store, he said. Lord & Taylor employees realized the bills were fake shortly after the suspects left the store, and police caught up with them while they were still in the mall, he said.

Sgt. Joseph Lech, Officer Chris Stylianou and Detective Kevin Reading Jr. are investigating the crime. Because counterfeit money was involved, the U.S. Secret Service was also notified, Ubry said.

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Theft

Officer Robert Wagner and Detective Scott Caloiaro are investigating a theft that took place at Lawrence High School. Police were notified at 2:21 p.m. on Monday, June 11, after the victim, a 14-year-old boy, reported that someone had stolen his $600 cell phone and a small amount of cash from his backpack while it was in a locker room, according to Ubry.

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Criminal Mischief

At 9:37 a.m. on Thursday, June 7, a resident of Devon Avenue called police to report an act of criminal mischief involving her 2000 Buick Sentry. After having trouble with the brakes, the woman took the vehicle to a mechanic, who discovered that someone had mixed oil with the brake fluid, Ubry said. He said it cost the woman $400 to have the car repaired. Officer Robert Wagner is investigating.

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Theft

At 4:38 p.m. on Tuesday, June 12, a woman from Robbinsville Township who works in the state Division of Youth and Family Services office on Princeton Pike notified police that $72 in cash had been stolen from a bag that she had left unattended in her office cubicle, Ubry said. He said the woman told police that a coworker had found her bag – minus the cash – discarded in a restroom. Officer Hector Nieves is investigating.

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Theft  

A 52-year-old woman from Hamilton Township called police at 5:33 p.m. on Tuesday, June 12, to report that her $550 cell phone was either stolen from her purse or she lost it while she was shopping at the Burlington Coat Factory in the Lawrence Shopping Center, Ubry said. He said Officer Andrew Lee is investigating.  

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 Thursday, June 7, 2012, through Tuesday, June 12, 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.