Princeton Police Blotter: Credit Card Theft, Crash on Stockton Street, Phone Scams

A woman reported on June 8 that her car was burglarized while parked either on the 100 block of Cleveland Lane or the 300 block of Witherspoon Street. Two credit cards and $14 in cash were stolen from the car. The credit cards were later used fraudulently in Delaware and Maryland, police said.

An unknown person wrote on the walls and on the bathroom stall door at the Grover Park bathrooms on Harrison Street on June 9. The incident is under investigation, police said.

Just before 10: 30 p.m. on June 11, a 1999 Grey Toyota Camry operated by Abolade Oduyemi was struck on Stockton Street at the intersection at Library Place by a 2002 White Lincoln Towncar DNC Taxi operated by Jean Desane. Odeuyemi was traveling east on Stockton Street, and Desane was traveling north on Library Place at the time of the crash. After the collision, Odeuyemi’s vehicle struck a curb and two New Jersey Department of Transportation utility boxes. Desane’s vehicle struck a curb and a fire hydrant. Desane complained of chest pain and was transported by ambulance to the University Medical Center at Plainsboro. Desane had a rear seat passenger who was not injured. Oduyemi also had no injuries. Desane was issued a summons at the scene for failing to observe a traffic signal, police said.

Between 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on June 5, someone forcibly entered a residence on the 100 block of Maidenhead Road and stole an unknown amount of cash and jewelry. The incident is under investigation, police said.

A resident from the 100 block of Wiggins Street reported on June 5 that someone had committed identity theft, stealing the resident’s personal information and charging $142.19 at a Verizon store in Brooklyn, New York. The thief also attempted to open a Barclay credit card in the victim’s name, but the application was denied, police said.

A 59-year-old Princeton resident was charged with serving alcohol to a minor on June 6 at 9:45 p.m. on the 200 block of Nassau Street. Hung Nguyen allegedly was walking on Nassau Street with two minors, who were also taken into custody for being minors in possession of alcohol.

A resident of the first block of Balsam Lane reported to police June 3 that over the past five years, someone has been damaging his lawn repeatedly by leaving tire tracks on the portion of his yard closest to the front sidewalk. The victim requested an extra police watch

Police investigated a report on June 3 that some time between May 31 and June 1, someone passed two counterfeit $20 bills at the Princeton Community Pool. The investigation is ongoing, police said.

Police took a 17-year-old into custody on June 4 after an employee at the Rite Aid Pharmacy at the Princeton Shopping Center observed the juvenile placing a Monster iCable 800, valued at $12.99, under his waist band. The juvenile was later turned over to a family friend.

Subsequent to a report of an intoxicated male in the area of the 100 block of Nassau Street just after 5:30 p.m. on May 29, police issued a special complaint summonses to Princeton resident Elijah Manning for disorderly conduct and loud noises after he grew combative and yelled loudly at police and medical personnel who were trying to assist him, police said.

A resident reported that sometime between 1:15 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. on May 29, someone stole her wallet from on top of her desk inside a business on the 100 block of Nassau Street. The wallet was valued at approximately $60 dollars and contained $77 dollars in cash.

A store employee reported that on May 31 at about 5:45 p.m., three males in their early 20s entered the store and stole a Nike running shirt, Apple iPhone, and an Apple iPhone case. The vale of the items was $484. One of the males reportedly walked out of the store with the running shirt on after trying it on in the dressing room. The males also took the same store employee’s cell phone and case that were both left unattended on a store shelf.

Police are investigating a burglary on the first block of Westcott Road that occurred sometime between May 29 and May 31. A burglar entered the residence and stole men’s watches and ladies jewelry valued at $20,575. The detective bureau is investigating the case.

A resident from the first block of Chestnut Street reported that sometime between 10:30 a.m. and noon on June 1, someone stole an arm chair from the front porch of her home. The chair was valued at $250.

A woman reported that on June 1 at 2:45 p.m., someone stole her handbag, which was left unattended on a park bench on Palmer Square East. The victim inadvertently walked away, leaving the handbag on a bench. It was gone when she returned approximately 45 minutes later. The handbag was valued at $800, and contained $5 and credit cards.

A woman reported that some time between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on June 1, someone stole her backpack. The backpack was left unattended on a chair at a restaurant in the 1st block of Witherspoon Street. The total value of the backpack and its contents was $265.

A resident from the 100 block of Jonathan Dayton Court reported that he received an email offering him a job with a Texas based company to receive and process payments coming from clients via bank wire transfer. The victim was promised a sizable salary, but was told he first must provide his bank account, routing number, and a copy of his driver’s license. The victim complied and started receiving text messages to wire out money from his account totaling $3,980, while receiving large amounts of funds into his account that were later found to be fraudulent funds.

A resident of Nassau Street reported that he was telephoned by a male with a “Spanish accent” identifying himself as “IRS Agent Sam Marshall”, who stated that the victim needed to pay $2,986 within an hour to clear tax issues from 2009 to 2012, or an arrest warrant would be issued. The victim was directed to purchase MoneyPak GreenDot cards at a CVS Pharmacy. The victim complied and telephoned the man, giving him the card numbers to access the money. The victim then realized he was scammed and telephoned police. The detective bureau is investigating the case.

Police investigated a burglary on the 200 block of Linden Lane on May 26. A burglar forced his way through a pet entrance and stole cash and jewelry valued at $230, plus, a half a case of beer.