Jewelry, Other Items Stolen During Residential Burglaries

Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry provided the following details of three recent residential burglaries that are under investigation.

Anyone with information that could help detectives solve these crimes is asked to call township police at (609) 896-1111.

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Manitee Avenue

A Toshiba laptop computer, an Apple iPod, assorted jewelry, cash and other items valued at more than $4,600 was stolen from a home on Manitee Avenue between 8:40 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28.

The burglar gained entry by forcing open a side window, Ubry said, noting that residents called police after returning home and finding the interior ransacked.

Detective James Smith and Officer Daniel Gladney are leading the investigation.

Ubry said police are investigating if there is any connection between the burglary and a vehicle break-in that happened between 7:30 a.m. and 11:10 a.m. on Feb. 28.

The vehicle, a 2010 Mustang, is owned by a resident of Alcazar Avenue but was parked on neighboring Manitee Avenue when it had its driver’s side window smashed out, Ubry said. He said the vehicle’s center console was ransacked but nothing of value was stolen.

A neighbor told police he saw a man he did not know acting suspiciously in the area that morning, Ubry said, noting that the witness described the suspect as white, in his early 20s, wearing blue jeans and a dark-colored sweatshirt.

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Franklin Corner Road

Police are attempting to identify two men who burglarized a home on Franklin Corner Road but fled empty-handed during the late afternoon of Friday, March 1.

The victim told police that the two men knocked on her door around 4 p.m. and asked her if she wanted them to seal her driveway for only $50 provided that she allow them to post a sign on her front lawn advertising their services. After the men demonstrated their sealant material, the woman agreed to their offer.

At that time, one of the men – described as white, heavy-set, with light hair, about 6 feet 2 inches tall, wearing a tan jacket, dark pants and a cap – told her that he needed to send his partner, with their gray pickup truck equipped with some kind of tank in its bed, to retrieve additional sealant, according to Ubry.

With the second man acting as if he was about to leave to fetch the needed material, the first man distracted the woman and escorted her to the rear of her property to look at something, Ubry said.

After some time, he said, they returned to the front of the house and the woman happened to see the second man – described as Hispanic, slim, about 5 feet 7 inches tall, wearing a windbreaker jacket and dark black pants – moving away from her front door.

The two men then offered the woman an excuse about having to leave. After they were gone, the woman discovered a bedroom drawer open and realized the second man had been inside the house, Ubry said. A check of the residence, however, revealed that nothing of value was missing, he said.

Detective Todd Caruso and Officer Robert Wagner are investigating.    

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Princeton Pike

A home in the 2800 block of Princeton Pike was burglarized between 7:20 p.m. and 8:53 p.m. on Monday, March 4. The burglar stole about $2,400 worth of jewelry after breaking into the house by way of a rear window, Ubry said, noting that the window screen had been cut and the window forcibly opened.

The homeowner called police after returning home and finding a bedroom had been ransacked, he said. Detective Todd Caruso and Officer Richard Laird III are leading the investigation.