Community Corner

Police Blotter

A look at this week's police activity in Limerick and Royersford with a report from the Pennsylvania State Police.

Limerick

The logged 195 incidents between Oct. 24 and 30. Of the incidents, 20 were deemed false alarms.

Among the calls to which the police responded were the following incidents of note.

Halloween Weekend Thefts at the Outlets

A press release sent in by Police Chief Bill Albany:

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Neither rain, nor snow, nor dark of night, will keep thieves from making their rounds at the Philadelphia Premium Outlets. Down trees and wires from this weekend's snow storm were not enough to keep Limerick Police busy this past weekend.

Police responded to four reported thefts at the mall and made three arrests.  On Friday [Oct. 28], 18-year-old Christian Duncan of Upper Darby was arrested at the Polo Outlet store after he was observed hiding clothes on his person. He was found to have concealed over $200-worth of clothing under his coat and in a shopping bag. Duncan has prior arrests for retail theft and giving false identification to police. He was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Joseph Dougherty and taken to Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $5,000 bail.

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On Saturday, [Oct. 29] police responded to the store on a report that a customer had stolen an employee's cell phone. Investigation revealed that a store associate noticed his cell phone missing after he checked out a customer. So, he approached the customer and dialed his cell phone number. He heard his custom ring tone coming from the customer's jacket pocket. The customer, later identified as Sharita Cousette, age 26, of Philadelphia denied having the phone but then returned it stating that "she did not know it belonged to him."

Cousette, who has three prior arrests for aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, corruption of minors, retail theft and receiving stolen property, was placed under arrest by police. She was arraigned before MDJ Henry Schireson and transported to MCCF in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Police are also investigating a Saturday afternoon theft at the Spyder Outlet store in which the actor fled prior to the arrival of police. Surveillance video revealed the suspect was in the store earlier in the day and the incident is under investigation.

On Sunday, [Oct. 30] a store sales associate observed a female enter the store and recognized her as someone who had been in the store on a prior occasion and removed security sensors from clothing. The associate confronted the woman after she exited a dressing room and found merchandise hidden in a bag along with a disabled security sensor. The woman, later identified as Dana Clark, age 19, of Philadelphia fled the store to a wooded area opposite the mall. Responding officers located and apprehended the suspect.  Clark was subsequently processed and cited for summary retail theft. 

Police also responded to 13 reports of trees and wires down during Saturday's storm and eight motor vehicle crashes.

Woman Needs Translator After Stealing From Kohl's

Responding Officer Christopher Iochum was dispatched to Kohl's on Oct. 27 at 8:51 p.m. for a retail theft. Upon arrival, Iochum met with loss prevention, who had already taken the offender into custody.

As the story was told by LP, 54-year-old Meenakumari Janaardhanon of Norristown, was walking through the store with her family, selecting items off of the shelf and pulling tags from those items. When Janaardhanon and her family got to the register, her family paid for the items they selected, but Janaardhanon failed to do so. She was stopped when exiting the store and taken to loss prevention.

From there, Janaardhanon needed her son to translate for her to both the loss prevention staff and the police. She was transported to Pottstown Police Department and cited for retail theft. Janaardhanon was then released to her son.

The total amount stolen was 10 pieces of jewelry worth $112.49.

Royersford

The following case was called in to Patch by responding Officer Tom Godin.

Community Members Help Detain Hit-and-Run Subject

On Oct. 25 at 10:08 p.m., police were dispatched for a hit-and-run on 3rd Avenue in Royersford. Allegedly, the subject, Donald Milton, 51 of Birdsboro, under the influence of alcohol, hit three parked cars with his vehicle. The third vehicle was a Comcast van.

"It's actually a really neat case," Godin said. "The accident is really not the interesting part of the story. So, he gets out of his car and starts to run, but the neighbors, [Richard Meyers and Richard Hunter] heard the commotion. They tracked him down and held him until we got there to affect the arrest on him.

"They had seen a bunch of hit-and-runs on their street, so they figured they might as well get out there and do something," Godin continued.

Milton was taken to West Reading Trauma Center after he was arrested and blood test is pending. He has been since discharged. Charges for DUI are pending the blood test results

The following reports were sent in by Police Chief Kevin Schurr:

Mischief Night Public Drunkenness

On Oct. 30 at 11:10 p.m., James Sim, 51 of Phoenixville, was observed "staggering" down Second Avenue in the area of .

His walk and demeanor drew the attention of patrol units passing by. Sim was stopped and investigated by police, and found to be heavily under the influence of alcohol. He was un-responsive to police upon questioning. A preliminary breath test was administered with the result being a .20 BAC. Sim was taken to Pottstown Police Department for lockup until he reached a sober condition.

He was cited for Public Drunkenness and released on Oct. 31.

Second Ave. Theft From Vehicle

Police are investigating a reported theft of a TAPCO "Aluminum Break" - valued at approximately $1,000. The item was taken from a Ford F-250, which was parked on the 400 block of Second Avenue. The theft occurred between Oct. 27 at 10 p.m. and Oct. 28, when it was disacovered missing at 6 a.m.

The victim's name is being intentionally withheld. Anyone having observed any suspicious activity at this time and location is asked to phone local police.

Kids Find Heroin Paraphernalia

On Oct. 29 at 3:45 p.m., police were called to the area of the 100 block of N. Third Avenue, where children at play had discovered what was believed to be a small amount of drug paraphernalia. The items were located lying in the street as if they had fallen out of a parked vehicle. Police recovered syringes, two chrome "smoking pipes" and small empty bags containing heroin residue. Further investigation into the incident is continuing.

Pennsylvania State Police

The following report was sent in by the Pennsylvania State Police Skippack Barracks:

DUI on Township Line and Ridge Pike

On Oct. 30 at approximately 3:10 a.m., a 1997 silver Honda Civic was stopped for displaying a suspended registration plate. The driver, a 33-year-old male, whose name was not included in the report, exhibited signs of drug impairment and failed field sobriety tests, according to police.

He was transported to Pottstown Memorial Medical Center to determine his BAC and the presence of controlled substances. Search of the individuals person upon arrest revealed two clear bars containing a green vegetable matter (suspected marijuana) and a multi-color glass pipe.

Charges for DUI of alcohol, drug possession and related traffic charges are pending the results of the laboratory analysis of blodd and will be filed in district court.


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