UDPD Reports: Hit-and-Run, Criminal Mischief, Burglaries

Burglary - On Sept. 11 at approximately 5:30 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 200 block of Fort Washington Ave. for a burglary just discovered. The residents notices that although the storm door was closed and locked, the door to the kitchen had ten forced open. They verified that there was a burglary and called UDPD. The point of entry appears to have been the kitchen door with significant damage to the main door jamb, splintering it and breaking it with the strike plate found on the kitchen floor.

Hit and Run - On Sept. 6, the victim of a hit and run walked into UDPD to report that his vehicle has been struck while parked in the lot at the Upper Dublin Professional Center. He stated that a black truck backed into his vehicle, causing damage to his driver door, driver side front fender and driver side mirror. He said the operator approached him and said he would pay for the damage and went to his truck to get his information, but then drove off.

Criminal Mischief - An Officer on patrol had come to the Burn Brae Day Care property when the officer was stopped by the assistant director of the camp. She stated that sometime after 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, August 30 and 8:30 a.m. on Friday, August 31, the camp had suffered criminal mischief to several buildings on the property.

She stated that when she arrived at 8:30 a.m. this morning, she found archery arrows had been shot all over the property including into the swimming pool. She then checked the property and found that several buildings had doors forced open sometime overnight. She showed the officer the rock band shed where the door had been forced open and also the window had been opened. At this time there is nothing missing from the shed that housed amplifiers and other sound equipment.

She then took the officer to the music shed where it was found that the hasp had been cut and the lock removed but nothing taken.

The officer then went to the maintenance shed where the window had been forced open but there was nothing in the shed.

The assistant director showed the officer the swimming pool cabana, which hadall three doors forced open from the locks possibly by shouldering the doors as no pry marks or foot prints were observed. This shed contains the chemicals for the pool up keep, but nothing was tampered with or taken.

The assistant director stated the only things missing are three plastic chairs that had been painted gold worth a couple of dollars and a volleyball. It appears that after the actors shot the archery arrows throughout the property, the bows were also left behind near the sports shed. No other damage was found to any of the other buildings on the property.

Attempted Break-in - Police were called to the 1300 block of Arthur Ave. for a report of an attempted burglary. Upon arrival, the officer was met at the front door by the reporting party, and officers were informed that the reporting party was in an upstairs bedroom when he heard his dog, who was downstairs, start barking. He went down to investigate the barking and noticed the dog seemed to be focused on the back door leading to the fenced-in rear yard. He moved the blinds covering the mostly glass door and noticed the outside glass pane was shattered. The glass was still in place inside the door frame. The interior glass pane was not damaged. He did not see or hear anyone and did not hear the glass break. Officers checked for any other footprint trails and there were none. Multiple police units responded to the area and checked for possible suspects with negative results.

Theft - A resident of the township walked into the Upper Dublin Police Department to report a missing/stolen firearm. He was very unsure about any details surrounding the incident and doesn't know if it was a case or not. When he went into the garage a couple of days later to put his things away, the firearm wasn't there. He then started to look for his purchase receipt for the item and couldn't find it, and has been looking for it for the last couple of years. But now he has found the receipt. He further added that the garage door doesn't always close all the way and sometimes the lights flash on and off, and the door remains open. He said that neighbors have sometimes told him his garage door is open.

Unusual Incident - On Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 7:06 p.m., an officer was dispatched to the Cumberland Farms Market and Gas Station, 1713 North Limekiln Pike, for a report that a driver had driven away with a gas nozzle still attached to their vehicle . Dispatch further relayed that no gasoline was leaking and the driver of the vehicle was still on the scene. The officer met with the driver of the vehicle in question who stated: he was getting gas here from a pump and forgot to remove the gas nozzle before her drove away. All of the pumps here have emergency disconnects and this just broke the lower part of the nozzle and gas line away from the pump. He explained that it was his fault and that he was in a hurry. This vehicle suffered no damage during the incident.

Public Intoxication - On Saturday, August 25, an officer arrived at the 7-Eleven Convenience Store, 1711 N Limekiln Pike, for a disturbance. The officer was provided with information from officers on location that the suspect involved had left on foot. The subject was on foot traveling on Dreshertown Rd. near N Limekiln Pike. The officer initiated a pedestrian stop and upon approaching the male, the male identified himself as Milliam Murtha, of Eckard Ave. of Abington. The officer detected an overwhelming odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from her person and his breath. Murtha was also unstable on his feet and observed swaying back and forth while standing next to the officer. At 6:46 a.m., the officer placed Murtha under arrest for public intoxication and drove him back to the 7-Eleven. The employee positively identified him as being the offender in the disturbance. Due to Murtha's admittance to having been driving prior to the disturbance at 7-Eleven, at 7:20 a.m., the officer transported him to Upper Moreland Police Station for the breath test. While there, police asked Murtha to submit to a chemical test of breath, which Murtha refused.

Vandalism - On August 26, at 11:23 p.m., an officer responded to the 900 block of Tannerie Run for the report of a disturbance. Upon arrival, the officer spoke to the reporting party who said that on that date at 11:20 p.m., a dark sedan of an unknown make and model, pulled in front of his home. He states the passenger of the vehicle, a white male with long hair, swung a bat at his mailbox. The resident then exited his home to speak with the subject. THe subject then entered the passenger side of the vehicle and it drove off toward Joel Drive.

Burglary - On Aug. 20, at approximately 8:30 p.m., an officer was dispatched to the 600 block of Susquehanna Rd., in the Ambler section of the township, for a burglary just found. Upon arrival, the officer spoke to the victims who said they left their residence at approximately 11 a.m. on that date and returned at approximately 11:30 p.m. on the same day. The victims said when they arrived him they noticed the rear door was open. The victims checked the residence and found the first floor bathroom window glass broken and the window unlocked. The victims found several items had been stolen, including Bank of Ireland credit cards, and Apple iPad, an iPhone, and a Chronograph watch. 

Theft - On Aug. 22, a complainant walked into Upper Dublin Police Department to report the theft of prescription drugs (Percocet) from the victim's handbag. Furthermore, on Tuesday, August 21, the victim felt the container looked short in the amount that should have been in the bottle. There were over 20 pills missing. The victim was a report so a new script could be filled this week. The victim thought this could have happened at the workplace.

Accident - On Wednesday, August 22, at 9:08 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the upper rear parking lot for GMAC off Virginia Dr in Dresher for the report that a vehicle had hit a parking chain. Upon arrival, the officer could shed that a blue Ford Explorer had hit a parking chain that was meant to block off an upper parking lot. The vehicle had suffered heavy front end damage and was not drivable. Both of the pillars holding the chain had been ripped out of the ground by the impact. The driver and owner of the vehicle said he was not hurt in the impact.

Accident - On Aug. 22, at approximately 7:50 a.m., the complainant was traveling south on Fort Washington Ave, approaching Susquehanna Rd. At that time, a silver SUV, being operated by a female driver, was traveling north on Fort Washington Ave, crossing over Susquehanna. The operator of the SUV was talking on her cell phone and crossed over the center line of the roadway causing the complainant to swerve to her right, striking the curb and causing damage to the front passenger side air bag, tire and rim.