6 Car Burglaries In Princeton Reported Sunday Night Into Monday Morning: Police

PRINCETON, NJ — Six car burglaries were reported to the Princeton Police Department on Monday. All six burglaries took place overnight Sunday into Monday, police said in their activity report provided on Tuesday.
Details are as follows:

• A victim reported that sometime during the overnight hours between Oct. 21 and the morning of Oct. 22, unknown person(s) ransacked their vehicle while it was parked in the driveway of a home on Hodge Road. No property was reported as being stolen. The vehicle was unlocked.
• A victim reported that sometime during the overnight hours between Oct. 21 and the morning of Oct. 22, unknown person(s) ransacked the victim’s vehicle while it was parked in the driveway of a home on the 100 block of Cleveland Lane. No property was reported as being stolen. The vehicle was unlocked.
• $30 worth of miscellaneous items were stolen from a parked and unlocked vehicle in the driveway of a home on the 100 block of Bayard Lane sometime during the overnight hours between Oct. 21 and the morning of Oct. 22.
• Miscellaneous items were stolen from a parked and unlocked vehicle in the driveway of a home on the 100 block of Stanworth Lane sometime during the overnight hours between Oct. 21 and the morning of Oct. 22. The total value of the stolen items was unknown.
• An iPad 4 and $1,000 in cash were stolen from a parked and unlocked vehicle in the driveway of a home on the 100 block of Green Street sometime during the overnight hours between Oct. 21 and the morning of Oct. 22. The total value of the loss was $1,500.
• $99 worth of miscellaneous items were stolen from a parked and unlocked vehicle in the driveway of a home on the 100 block of Spruce Street sometime during the overnight hours between Oct. 21 and the morning of Oct. 22.

The following are some tips to help reduce the risk of becoming a victim of car burglaries:

Lock your doors
While this may sound like common sense, most motor vehicle burglaries occur to unlocked vehicles. Even if your vehicle is parked in your driveway, lock it up.

Keep it tidy
Any personal items that are visible from the outside, even an empty shopping bag, could be seen as a valuable or a carrier of valuables.

Conceal all of your Property
Don't leave any bait out for thieves; put your electronics and accessories well out of sight. Better yet, bring it in with you. The evidence alone might be enough to get the interest of thieves, so hide that too, including power plugs, telltale iPod adapters, or nav-system windshield suction-cup mounts, and even put the cigarette lighter back in place.

Completely close windows and sunroofs
No, it's not just because thieves might reach in through the gap and open your locks with a coat hanger. Open windows will disable the pressure sensor in some car alarms, leaving the vehicle more vulnerable to break-in and potentially giving thieves more time before the alarm sounds.

Park for visibility
Park in a busy, well-lit area, and avoid concealment from larger vehicles, fences, or foliage. Except for the most brazen thieves, the greater the chances are that someone might see a crime in progress, the lower the chances are that the potential thief will attempt it.

Anyone who sees any suspicious activity should call the Princeton Police Department at 609-921-2100.

The following incidents were also reported as part of Tuesday’s police blotter. Incidents are merely accusations, and those accused are considered innocent until proven guilty.

Charles Thompson, 47, of Philadelphia, was arrested on several outstanding warrants totaling $1,193 following a traffic stop for improper turns on the 100 block of Mercer Road on Oct. 22. The warrants were out of Manchester Township, Chesterfield Township, Hopewell Township, Southampton Township and Palmyra Boro municipal courts. He was taken to police headquarters, where he was processed, issued several motor vehicle summonses with a pending court date and turned over to Hopewell Township police.

Paulus Kerkula, 22, of Trenton, was arrested on two outstanding warrants after initially giving a false name during a traffic stop on Bayard Lane on Oct. 22. Kerkula was the unbuckled front seat passenger in a car that was stopped for speeding and equipment violations. The warrants totaled $2,500 out of Riverside and Riverton municipal courts. He was also charged with hindering and unlawful use of credit cards. He was taken to police headquarters, where he was processed, issued a motor vehicle summons and a complaint summons with a pending court date and released on his own recognizance by both courts.

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