Princeton Borough Police Blotter: Collision on Cedar Lane, Princeton U. Student Shoplifting Incident at Wawa, and More
A black Lexus SUV heading north on Cedar Lane near Prospect Avenue collided with a Dodge pickup truck just before noon Wednesday after the driver of the SUV allegedly ran a stop sign, police said. Both vehicles landed on the lawn of 260 Prospect Avenue, Princeton Borough Police Captain Nick Sutter said. All of the airbags in both of the vehicles were deployed and the vehicles had to be towed from the scene because both were severely damaged, Sutter said. Lexus driver Rodrigo Soto of Princeton, 51, was issued a summons for failing to observe a stop sign. He had a passenger in the car at the time, Nancy Lopez, 49, of Princeton. The Dodge pickup driver was Atanacio Perez, 44, of Princeton. The two drivers and the passenger complained of neck and back pain and were taken to the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro.
A Princeton University student was charged with shoplifting Wednesday after he was observed by a police officer stealing about $9 in food items from the Wawa on University Place just before 3 a.m., police said. Denton Koon, 20, was released and his court date was set for Sept. 24.
On Monday night, the second floor of an apartment building at the corner of Nassau Street and Pine Street collapsed into the first floor living room because of water damage, police said. The apartment, behind Tiger Noodles, was undergoing a renovation. The water had been turned off downstairs, but was apparently turned on again while faucets were still in the on position. Tiger Noodles management notified the landlord of the problem and the police were contacted. The fire department and health department were sent to the building, police said. Tiger Noodles did not suffer water damage but was closed briefly until health department officials determined it was safe for the restaurant to reopen, police said.
On Sept. 9, after a minor motor vehicle accident on University Place just after midnight, police determined that one of the drivers, Stephan Thomas of Brooklyn, was intoxicated. Thomas, 29, was arrested for DWI and later released. His court date was set for Sept. 24.
Just before 3 a.m. on Sept. 8, police responded to a report of harassment at the McCosh Infirmary at Princeton University. Matthew Vance, 27, of Summit was charged with driving while intoxicated and refusing to provide breathalyzer samples. He was released and his court date was set for Sept. 24.
A New Brunswick man allegedly tried to steal a bottle of alcohol from the Nassau Liquor Grape and Grain on Sept. 3 by slipping the bottle into his pants, police said. A store employee contacted police after observing Cirilo Santos, 39, take the bottle of alcohol. Police later determined that Santos was in possession of cocaine and paraphernalia used to ingest cocaine. He was also found to have an inactive warrant from Middlesex County for failure to pay child support, police said. His bail was set at $10,000 and he was committed to the Mercer County Detention Center.
A Princeton resident was stopped on Washington Road on Sept. 2 because her car tail lights were not working, and police allegedly smelled the odor of burnt marijuana when they approached the car. Rhea Wagh, 19, of Auburn Place was charged with possession of marijuana.
Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.