WPD Reports: Suspected Turkey Day DUI Crash, Pair of Burglaries

All information is according to official police reports filed at the Whitemarsh Township Police Department. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Suspected DUI accident:
At approximately 2:04 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 22, police responded to the area of Bethlehem and Skippack Pikes for the report of a two-vehicle crash. Upon arrival, the driver of the first vehicle involved in the crash told police that she had been rear ended by a second vehicle while stopped at a red light.  The driver of the vehicle then allegedly approached her and said that he was okay but that he was “just waiting to get arrested,” the woman told police.

Police then spoke with the driver, who had returned to his vehicle, but found that he could barely lift his head up and appeared to be significantly intoxicated, a report said. Police identified the driver as a 39-year-old Fort Washington man, and attempted to have him perform several field sobriety tests. However, the suspect was unable to complete the tests and was taken into custody, police said. He was then taken to an area hospital for blood tests.

Court records show the man has not yet been charged in connection with the incident.

Burglary:
At approximately 12 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 20, Whitemarsh Police were dispatched to the 300 block of Flourtown Road, Lafayette Hill, for the report of a burglary. There, a 79-year-old man told police that someone had forced their way into his home through a side door, and stolen $8,700 that had been hidden in envelopes.

Due to a language barrier, the man’s daughter was contacted to help translate. The daughter told police that her father did not know of anyone who would have known the location of the envelopes.


Burglary: At approximately 11:34 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 24, police were dispatched to the first block of Maple Drive, Conshohocken, for the report of a burglary. Residents of a home at that address told police that at some point overnight, someone had stolen two iPads, three silver necklaces, a can of change, a small black case, and a multi-pack of paper towels from the home.

A further investigation found that it appeared someone had pried open the rear window of the home, and police found a screen from the window lying under a deck.

Disorderly conduct:
At approximately 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 19, a Whitemarsh police officer on patrol on Flourtown Road spotted a vehicle traveling without working brake lights. After pulling the vehicle over, the officer detected the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle, and was given permission by the driver, a 20-year-old Philadelphia man, to search the vehicle, a report said.

Inside, the officer found a metal “grinder” containing marijuana residue and a clear baggie containing remnants of the drug, the report said. The driver was issued a citation for disorderly conduct.

Theft:
At approximately 1:15 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 22, a 26-year-old patron of MaGerks Tavern, 582 Bethlehem Pike, told police that someone had stolen her white clutch from the back of her chair sometime after 11 p.m. that night. The clutch also contained an HTC Thunderbolt cell phone, $60 in cash, a set of keys, and the woman’s drivers license.

Vehicle break-in:
At approximately 10:31 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 23, police were dispatched to the first block of Station Avenue, Conshohocken, for the report of a vehicle break-in. There, a 41-year-old man told police that someone had smashed the front passenger window of his vehicle, but that it did not appear anything was missing. After searching the area, police did not find any other vehicle break-ins.