Crime & Safety

South Brunswick Police Respond to Over 70k Calls in 2013

Police look back on challenging year.

South Brunswick Police responded to over 70,000 calls for assistance during the past year, according to department statistics released Friday. 

Police dealt with situations involving missing persons, burglaries, assaults, thefts, and motor vehicle crashes, in addition to several incidents involving armed suspects. 

"Throughout the year officers rose to meet the challenges placed before them with the professionalism that distinguishes our agency as one of the finest in the state," said police spokesman Lt. Jim Ryan via press release. 

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Police highlighted the following incidents that officers were confronted with during 2013.

Two Drunk Drivers Ram Two Different Police Cars - In January and again in March, drunk drivers struck marked police cars on patrol injuring the officers. Patrolman First Class Angelo Zecca and Patrolman First Class Mark Lorenc were both struck while on patrol. The drivers that struck the officers were charged with drunk driving and assault by auto.

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Snowstorms and accidents - Winter weather left more the ten inches of snow during a February storm. Several other smaller winter weather events created dozens of accidents.

Fatal accidents - Accidents claimed the lives of two people on Township roadways this year. One crash took place on Route 1 in March and the second on Friendship Road in June. 

Pizza robber caught - In April detectives were able to link a suspect to a series of robberies including that of a pizza delivery man on Quincy Circle. The suspect was charged with armed robbery and possession of a firearm. 

Driver indicted for manslaughter in death of passenger - An investigation by South Brunswick Police into the fatal car crash on Route 1 resulted in the indictment of the van driver. The driver was hired to take a family to the airport when he crashed his van into the rear of a dump truck. The crash killed a passenger. 

Heavy Rains Flood Highways - Several torrential downpours this spring and summer caused brief closures of Route 1 and Route 27. During one storm, rain water was flowing over the divider on Route 1 near Dow Jones. 

Suspects arrested for stealing from businesses - Three men were arrested for stealing machinery and metal from area businesses. The men stole more then $50,000 in manhole covers, catalytic converters, and tools over a month period of time in June.

Shooting at Brookside Mobile Home Park - Police responded to a Brookside Mobile residence after several reports of shots being fired. No one was injured but several bullets struck a residence. 

Drunk man steals landscaping truck and flees - A man who was drunk stole a landscaping truck on Jones drive in October and proceeded to crash into eight vehicles in North Brunswick. He was arrested and charged with numerous offenses.  

Manhunt captures car burglary suspect, second suspect captured by US Marshals - Two suspects breaking into cars in Beekman Manor were tracked down and captured in October. A large scale manhunt led to the capture of the first suspect within hours of the crime, the second was located in Philadelphia weeks later by the US Marshals Service.

South Brunswick One of Safest Big Towns - In November, South Brunswick was designated one of the safest big towns in New Jersey.

Car stop leads to arrest of armed suspect - A November car stop resulted in the arrest of a wanted suspect and recovery of a loaded handgun from a driver on Route 1. The suspect struggled with officers and ran from the car stop but was quickly captured.

Check back with Patch on Monday for the most read police stories from 2013.


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