Community Corner

Limerick Police Blotter

A briefing of police activity in Limerick Township: Retail thefts at the Philadelphia Premium Outlets, Two DUIs on Ridge Pike, Public Drunkenness at Railroad Street Bar & Grill.

The logged 196 incidents between May 28 and June 3. Of them, 19 were deemed false alarms. The department issued the following incidents of note.

Woman Allegedly Steals Lots of Merchandise from Outlets

On May 30 at 4:47 p.m., Officer Christopher Wienczek responded to the for a woman in custody for an alleged retail theft. Upon arrival, Wienczek reported he spoke with Loss Prevention at .

Police said LP reported watching a Menghe Zhang, 19 of New York (additional address in Lancaster, Pa.) come into the store, go to the shoe department, select several pairs of shoes and conceal them in her black handbag. Police said the surveillance tape then revealed her conceal five women's shirts and four pairs of high heeled shoes. She was stopped outside the store after she did not pay for the selected items.

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Menghe was taken into custody and processed at Pottstown Police Department. She had no prior arrests for retail theft. She was allegedly found with $888.50 of merchandise from Neiman Marcus and $54.98 of merchandise from . She was also found with $339.94 in merchandise from and $42.50 of merchandise from . However, those two stores refused to prosecute.

Alleged Intoxicated Man Leaves Limerick Diner, Receives DUI Arrest

On May 31 at 1:42 a.m., police were called for a potential DUI in Limerick. A caller reportedly told police that an intoxicated man was leaving the by vehicle, traveling west on Ridge Pike.

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Officer Kevin McGuigan said he saw the reported vehicle and began to follow it, watching it swerve across the white fog line near Airport Road. McGuigan said the car made a right turn around the 3300 block of Ridge Pike. He said he then watched the car veer off the roadway toward Fairways Inn, get back on the road and travel across the double yellow lines.

McGuigan reported he pulled the car over after it went into the west lot of Fairways Inn. Upon making contact with the sole occupant of the vehicle, a William Wensel, 56 of Schwenksville, McGuigan reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol. He also said Wensel seemed "dazed and fumbled for his requested documents." McGuigan said he asked the driver to step out of the vehicle and the PBT resulted in a .208. He was arrested for DUI and transported to Pottstown Police Department. He was arraigned at 10:30 a.m. the same day and was issued $2,000 bail. His preliminary hearing was on June 7.

Two Retail Thefts from Solstice

On June 2 at 5:58 p.m., Officer David Bartok was dispatched to at the Philadelphia Premium Outlets for a retail theft. An employee of the store reported one pair of sunglasses stolen within the last five minutes, with three males involved in the theft.

Police found the suspects matching the description given by the employee of Solstice walking together. One male, an Ethan Richard Yocum, 18 of East Greenville, admitted to stealing a $160 pair of Oakley Flak Jack sunglasses. Upon searching the man, Bartok reported finding a second pair of sunglasses with the price tag still attached. The pair was a $9.99 model from . Initially, Yocum reportedly denied stealing that pair, but owned up to the theft soon after.

Yocum was arraigned on June 3 with bail set at $3,000. His preliminary hearing is on June 13.

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On June 3 at 2:14 p.m., Officer John Cassel was dispatched to Solstice Sunglasses at the Philadelphia Premium Outlets for a retail theft. An employee said one pair of sunglasses was stolen within the last 10 minutes by an alleged Hispanic female carrying a bag.

Officer Pat Roche made contact with the woman, an Amarillis Reyes, 19 of Reading, who said she was at Solstice, but did not steal anything. Police said they watched the tape to confirm she stole a $160 pair of Ray Bans sunglasses.

Sergeant Ed Ciaciak searched the True Religion bag Reyes was carrying and said he found the sunglasses with no receipt for any of the items in the bag, including items form , Neiman Marcus, , and Gap. Reyes was transported to Pottstown Police Department and was found with one summary charge for retail theft in 2010 in Exeter. Gap, Neiman Marcus, Adidas, Charlotte Russe and Timberland did not press charges against Reyes.

Reyes was arraigned on the same day with bail set at $3,000 unsecured. Her hearing is scheduled for June 13.

Public Drunkenness Issued at Railroad Street

On June 3 at 1:52 a.m., Officer David Bartok responded to for an alleged disturbance. Upon arrival, he was told that a man tried to return to the bar to initiate a fight and reportedly threatened a man.

The suspect was an Ivan Chavarria-Mardones, 26 of Royersford. He was given a PBT by police and alleged registered a .205. He was transported to Pottstown Police Department and incarcerated after being issued a non-traffic citation for public drunkenness.

No Turn on Red Results in DUI Arrest

On May 17 at 10:18 p.m., Sergeant Robert Matalavage was patrolling the area of W. Ridge Pike and Swamp Pike when he saw a maroon Maxima turn on red at a traffic light marked with a "No Turn on Red" sign.

Matalavage reported he stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation and came in contact with the driver, a Francis James Taylor Jr., 51 of Warrington, who allegedly smelled of a strong odor of alcohol and had extremely bloodshot eyes. Taylor allegedly told Matalavage he had two beers earlier that night and was golfing.

Taylor reportedly passed the finger-to-nose field sobriety test, but failed both the nine-step test and the one leg stand test. He registered a .114 BAC and was released to a friend after processing for a DUI arrest.


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