Police Blotter: Students Allegedly Caught With Drugs, Wine

Drug Possession

A student at Lawrence High School – Cristian J. Osorio, 18, of Myrtle Avenue, Lawrence Township – was arrested at the school about 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, and charged with multiple drug possession and possession with intent to distribute offenses, according to Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Charles Edgar.

Acting on information alleging that Osorio was in possession of drugs, school administrators conducted an investigation and allegedly caught the 18-year-old on school property with marijuana, prescription medications, and drug paraphernalia, Edgar said. The school then called police, he said.

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Underage Alcohol Possession

Officer Adam Kowalczyk was sent to Lawrence High School about 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22, after an assistant principal caught two 16-year-old male students in possession of wine concealed in a Gatorade bottle, Edgar said. He said the school administrator’s suspicions were aroused when he saw the students passing the bottle back-and-forth. The matter has been forwarded to one of the township’s juvenile detectives for further investigation, he said.

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Drug Possession

Three young men from Lawrence Township were arrested for alleged marijuana possession when they returned to retrieve an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) that had fallen from the bed of the pickup truck in which they were traveling on Sunday, Feb. 19, according to Edgar.

Edgar said it was 6:44 p.m. when police received a call from a passing motorist reporting that an ATV was in the middle of the road, with no operator anywhere in sight, at Federal City Road near Interstate 95. Unsure if there had been an accident that had caused the operator to be ejected or wander off injured looking for help, officers began to search the area, he said.

While officers were still trying to ascertain how the ATV had come to be in the middle of the road, 19-year-old Pine Knoll Drive resident Benjamin M. Allen drove up in his pickup truck and explained to officers that the ATV must have fallen from the bed of his truck sometime earlier as he was driving through that area, Edgar said.

While officers were talking to Allen and his passengers, they noticed what appeared to be marijuana “in plain view” in the truck, Edgar said. He said officers conducted an investigation and arrested Benjamin Allen and charged him with possession of under 50 grams of marijuana and underage possession of alcohol.

The two passengers in the truck – Scott D. Allen, 18, of Fernwood Lane, and Ryan D. Buxton, 20, of the 200 block of Cold Soil Road – were also charged with marijuana possession, Edgar said.

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Drug Possession

Matthew Funk, 20, of Falls Township, Pa., was arrested about 6:25 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, and charged with possession of under 50 grams of marijuana, Edgar said. He said Officer Andres Mejia stopped Funk’s 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue because Funk was impeding the flow of traffic by driving along Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) well below the speed limit.

Upon speaking to Funk, Edgar said, the officer smelled what he believed was an odor of burnt marijuana coming from the car. He said Funk was taken into custody after subsequent investigation by Mejia turned up the marijuana in the car.

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Drug Possession

Pervis A. Donaldson Jr., 43, of Iowana Avenue, Ewing Township, was arrested about 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15, and charged with possession of heroin, Edgar said.

Donaldson was riding as a passenger in the vehicle driven by Kira N. Poythress, 28, of Drewes Court, Lawrence Township, Edgar said. He said Officer Andres Mejia stopped that vehicle near the Brunswick Circle for a traffic violation (failure to yield).

During the course of that traffic stop, Mejia discovered that Poythress and Donaldson were each wanted in connection with an outstanding warrant, from Bordentown and Hopewell, respectively, Edgar said. After taking the two into custody on the warrants, he said, Mejia found that Donaldson allegedly had a small amount of heroin on his person.

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Drug Paraphernalia

Vincenzo P. Gavrity, 19, of Huguenot Avenue, Staten Island, N.Y., was arrested about 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21, and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia following a routine traffic stop by Officer Richard Laird III, Edgar said. He said Laird stopped Gavrity on Eggerts Crossing Road because the vehicle Gavrity was driving, a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro, allegedly had an equipment violation.

Gavrity, a Rider University student who was , “appeared nervous” as the officer asked him for his driver’s license and other documentation, Edgar said. He said Gavrity was arrested after an investigation by the officer revealed a pipe “commonly used to smoke marijuana.”

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Stolen Vehicle Recovered

Four teenagers – three girls and one boy – were arrested about 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, and charged with receiving stolen property after Officer Marc Poveromo conducted a random license plate “lookup” and discovered that the 2006 Cadillac CTS he had selected for the lookup had been stolen from Calhoun Street in Trenton on Feb. 19, according to Edgar.

The stolen car’s driver, 18-year-old Shaquia L. Brown of the 600 block of Stuyvesant Avenue in Trenton, was also issued three traffic tickets, Edgar said. He said the passengers in the car were a 17-year-old girl from Trenton; a 16-year-old girl from Hamilton Township; and a 15-year-old boy from Trenton. One of the juveniles was also found to be wanted in connection with an outstanding warrant valued at $322, he said.

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Driving Under the Influence 

Phyllis Pickett, 53, of Race Street, Trenton, was arrested about 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21, and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, speeding, failure to keep right, failure to maintain a lane and failure to stop for an emergency vehicle, according to Edgar.

Edgar said Officer Scott Stein stopped the vehicle Pickett was driving on Brunswick Pike (Route 1) after allegedly observing a motor vehicle violation. Pickett allegedly had a strong odor of alcohol about her when she was approached by Stein, he said, explaining that Pickett was arrested after she performed poorly on field sobriety tests.   

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Driving Under the Influence

Marvin Aguilar, 24, of the 1500 block of Pennington Road, Ewing Township, was arrested about 1:55 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, on suspicion of drunk driving, according to Edgar.

Officer Chris DiMeglio stopped the 1992 Toyota Celica driven by Aguilar after observing it allegedly traveling in an erratic manner along Lawrence Road (Route 206) near the Brunswick Traffic Circle, Edgar said. He said Aguilar had a strong odor of alcohol about his person and was arrested after he performed poorly on field sobriety tests administered by DiMeglio.

Aguilar was charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, being an unlicensed driver, and failure to maintain a lane, Edgar said. He said Aguilar was also charged with hindering apprehension because he had a fake Guatemalan driver’s license on him that bore his photograph but had a different name on it.      

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Driving Under the Influence

Ihor Koshitsky, 39, of Pear Street, Lawrence Township, was arrested about 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15, and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, refusal to take a breath test and failure to maintain a lane, Edgar said.

He said Officer Chris DiMeglio stopped the van that Koshitsky was driving at Mulberry Street and Princeton Avenue after seeing that Koshitsky was “having difficulty maintaining a lane.” He said Koshitsky, who allegedly smelled of alcohol, was taken into custody after he failed field sobriety tests.

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Resisting Arrest

Rahien Clark, 28, of the 1400 block of South Broad Street, Trenton, was arrested about 11 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, and charged with obstruction and resisting arrest following an incident at the Colonial Bowling & Entertainment Center in the 2400 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1), Edgar said.

Police were in the process of interviewing a woman who had gotten into a fight with another woman when Clark allegedly intervened and repeatedly interrupted the interview, Edgar said. He said Clark was told multiple times to move away and “cease his interruptions.” When he continued to interrupt, Clark was placed under arrest, Edgar said, noting that Clark was charged with resisting arrest because he did not cooperate when officers went to handcuff him.    

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Theft

Officer Shaun Sexton is investigating the theft of a $250 iPhone belonging to an 18-year-old township woman who had left the phone in a storage bin in the laser tag area at the Colonial Bowling & Entertainment Center on Brunswick Pike, Edgar said. He said the theft was reported to police at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25.

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Theft

Officer Suzanne Girard is investigating the theft of a $500 iPad taken from a locker in Alumni Gym on the Rider University campus, Edgar said. He said the owner, a 22-year-old student from Clifton, reported the crime at 3:09 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25.

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Theft

An iPhone valued at $300 was stolen after the owner, an employee at the Colonial Bowling & Entertainment Center, placed it down and walked away for a moment while working at the business on Brunswick Pike, Edgar said. He said the crime was reported at 11:51 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, and Officer Scott Stein is investigating.

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Theft

At 2:46 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, Officer Suzanne Girard was sent to Notre Dame High School to investigate the theft of an iPod Nano and watch belonging to an 18-year-old student from Robbinsville Township, Edgar said. He said the student had left the items in an unsecured locker two days earlier.

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Theft

Officer Andres Mejia is investigating the theft of a white BMX boy’s bicycle valued at $150 that was stolen from the yard of a home on Lakedale Drive, according to Edgar, who said the crime was reported at 11:56 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 24.

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Theft

On Monday, Feb. 20, Officer Steve Simon was sent to the Colonial Bowling & Entertainment Center to investigate after a teenager notified police at 2:31 p.m. that his bicycle – which he had left unsecured outside – had been stolen, Edgar said.

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Criminal Mischief

At 1:12 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26, residents of the 900 block of Lawrence Road (Route 206) reported to police that someone driving by in a vehicle had shot an orange paintball pellet into the side of their home, Edgar said. Officer Michael Smith was assigned the investigation.

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Fraud

Nicholas Dixon Jr., 49, of the 1100 block of Parkside Avenue, Ewing Township, was arrested about 9:45 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27, and charged with possession of a forged document and being an unlicensed driver after the car he was driving was stopped at Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) and Maplewood Avenue by Sgt. Tim Drew, Edgar said.

He said Drew conducted a random license plate “lookup” and stopped the vehicle after discovering that the driver’s license of the registered owner – Dixon – had expired. During the traffic stop, he said, Drew further noticed that Dixon had a fraudulent inspection sticker displayed on the windshield of the vehicle.

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 Monday, Feb. 13, through Monday, Feb. 27, 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.