Collingswood police got to the scene of an alleged car burglary quickly enough to locate a missing car stereo and apprehend a pair of men found in the area. Around 3:30 a.m. on April 15, officers responded to Richey Avenue on complaint of a vehicle burglary and stolen Kenwood stereo from a 1993 blue Mercury tracer. Officers established a perimeter of the area and located the suspected offenders as well as the stereo, which had been dropped when the two fled the scene. Carl Edmonds, 22, of Camden City, was charged with third-degree burglary and theft from a motor vehicle. Edwards was also …

Collingswood police applauded the vigilance of a "nosy" neighbor who notified them when something didn't look quite right outside of an apartment in the 400 block of Richey Ave. one morning.  At 8:15 a.m. on April 29, police say a witness observed a man trying to open an exterior window to the apartment and called them. At the scene, officers encountered a man who matched the provided description: Thomas Helvig, 32, of Collingswood, who was known to them through prior encounters. Helvig was charged with third-degree criminal attempt burglary and was remanded to the Camden County correctional …

A Collingswood man who allegedly mistreated his pet in the presence of police found out the hard way that corrective discipline can apply to human beings, too. At 7:40 a.m. on May 4, Collingswood police were dispatched to North Newton Lake Drive, near the "C" Tower of the Heights of Collingswood to investigate a report of a man causing a disturbance and abusing a small dog. At the scene, police following the sounds of a yelping animal allegedly encountered Conrad Carney, 25, kicking his dog. He was ordered to stop. In response, police said, Carney booted the dog in the midsection—sending it …

DWIAt approximately 10:30 p.m. on April 1, Collingswood police responded to the scene of a single-vehicle accident in Knight Park. Police said a gold 2000 Chevrolet Malibu driven by Eric Thomas, 27, of Camden City, left the roadway and struck a tree. Police said they also encountered Thomas attempting to leave the area when they arrived. Thomas failed field sobriety tests and was arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) and other motor vehicle offenses, police said. Believing he may have been under the influence of more than just alcohol, police also transported Thomas to Our Lady of …

When you gotta go, you gotta go, as the saying goes. But that old saw is missing a key piece of advice about choosing prudently the time and place, as an Oaklyn man learned first-hand from Collingswood police. On March 26 around 8:30 p.m., officers on patrol in the area of the Aldi food store saw a man urinating behind the supermarket: Raymond Van Sciver, 54, of Oaklyn—who had to answer for more than just the call of nature, as it turned out. Not only did police learn that Van Sciver was wanted on a $4,000 warrant, but also that he was carrying four Ziploc baggies containing what they think …

An alleged burglar who thought the coast was clear for a quick raid on the basement of a Collingwood apartment building found himself face to face with an off-duty police officer. At 1:30 a.m. on April 5, Collingswood Police were dispatched to Wayne Garden Apartments to investigate the report of a burglary in progress. Police say that upon his return to the apartment complex that night, an off-duty officer discovered Sean Mauro, 30, of Deptford, reportedly cutting copper piping in the basement of the building. The officer detained Mauro until Collingswood Police arrived. Mauro was charged …

If a police officer decides to cut you a break, you should probably consider yourself lucky and tighten up. But apparently, a Berlin woman who was allegedly pulled over for driving without brake lights—or a current license—didn't get the memo. At 11 a.m. on April 4, while on patrol in the area of Route 130 and the White Horse Pike, Collingswood police say they pulled over a Saturn with non-functioning brake lights. The driver, Sharon Powers, 32, of Berlin, was also in possession of an expired driver license, police say. Powers told the officer that she was meeting a friend for breakfast at …

A pair of Collingswood men was arrested last week in connection with a robbery and assault that police say they staged in order to defraud an acquaintance out of a social assistance check. According to police reports, 28-year-old Joseph Ellis and an unidentified friend were walking along the 900 block of Magill Ave. around 3 a.m. on March 19 when they were approached by a man with his face covered. The man allegedly demanded their money. When they refused, he pepper-sprayed them and fled. Upon further investigation, however, detectives concluded that the assault was no random encounter. Ellis…

Traffic violations led Collingswood Police to a pair of DWI arrests in the month of March. At 12:10 a.m. on March 3, officers noticed a car driving near the intersection of Ferry Avenue and the White Horse Pike with a couple of flat tires. The vehicle had its hazard lights engaged at a red signal. Police say the driver stopped at the light, and then proceeded through before it changed. Officers pulled the vehicle over and made contact with Benito Moran-Mendoza, 45, of Woodlynne. In the course of speaking with him, police determined that Moran-Mendoza appeared to be intoxicated, according to …

When they pulled him over for running a red light, Paul Mitchell of Oaklyn told Collingswood Police that was returning home from making a child support payment, according to police reports. The trouble is, that might not have been the only stop he made on the way. At 12:02 a.m. on Feb. 19, officers on patrol in the area of Magill Avenue and the White Horse Pike, stopped the 30-year-old Mitchell for an alleged traffic violation. He notified them that he was wanted on a $1,000 warrant for nonpayment of child support, and that he was returning from Camden City, where he had made a payment. A …

It pays to be vigilant when you're paying for your purchase, as one patron of the Dunkin Donuts on Route 130 in Collingswood learned earlier this month. After stopping in for a donut and a coffee, a customer discovered he had left his iPhone 5 behind at the counter. When he went back to grab it, his property had disappeared, according to Collingswood Police. Fortunately, the customer had installed a tracking application on his device, and used his laptop to locate the phone. It had "wandered" beyond the local jurisdiction, but, with the assistance of the New Jersey State Police, he was able …

The traditional Irish greeting on St. Patrick's Day—"a hundred thousand welcomes"—might not apply for a Collingswood resident who was victimized by a doorstep package thief twice in the same week. Collingswood Police say that at 12:30 p.m. on March 6, a resident of the 100 block of the White Horse Pike reported that a UPS package containing St. Patrick's Day decorations was stolen from the front of her residence. If that weren't enough, the package was re-shipped two days later...and then reportedly stolen again. Police have no suspects in the matter. Here's hoping the victim was still able …

The familiar refrain from Collingswood Police—lock your cars, lock your cars, Lord have mercy, please lock your cars—would seem to take on even more weight in the borough this month. Authorities reported a pair of vehicle thefts and attempts on a third in the past few weeks, with a fourth resident losing an inspection sticker in a car break-in. During the overnight hours of March 5, someone attempted to steal an unsecured Honda Civic parked in front of a residence in the 400 block of Cedar Avenue. That same night, a resident in the 100 block of Linden Avenue reported that his Honda Accord had…

After a bit of searching, Collingswood police were able to close the case on an alleged shoplifting incident at the Haddon Avenue Rite Aid that dated back to December 11, 2012. The perpetrator had already fled the scene when police arrived that day. The manager reported to them that he had observed a woman taking several boxes of laxatives and other products. Police said he confronted her at the front of the store, and asked her to remove the contents of her purse. She pushed past the manager and fled in a vehicle that police traced to a Woodlynne address. The owner of the car told them she …

Failure to keep her vehicle registration current led an Oaklyn woman to run afoul of Collingswood Police in an early-morning traffic stop—and things went worse for her from there. While on patrol in the area of Haddon and Pacific Avenues at 7:55 a.m. on March 4, officers spotted a vehicle with expired tags and conducted a motor vehicle stop. The driver, 28-year-old Shannon Becknell of Oaklyn, was unable to produce the appropriate documents, and was asked to exit the vehicle. While opening the door, police say that a glass pipe typically used to smoke marijuana fell out of Becknell’s pant leg…

"The wheels of justice grind slowly but exceedingly fine," as the proverb goes, and last week Collingswood Police proved it true. DNA evidence collected from the scene of a year-and-a-half-old crime was recently processed by the New Jersey State Police laboratory, and could give some closure to a Collingswood family whose home was burglarized. On the evening of October 29, 2011, residents in the 100 block of Richey Ave. returned home to discover that their back door had been broken into. Some jewelry and small appliances were discovered to be missing. Laboratory analysis showed that blood …

While checking the passengers of a bus accident for injuries, Collingswood Police made an unexpected drug arrest on Valentine's Day. At 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 14, police were dispatched to Route 30 and Woodlynne Avenue to respond to an accident involving a NJ Transit bus. None of the passengers was injured, but police discovered one woman was unconscious and unresponsive. She also apparently had vomited on herself. While searching her handbag for identification, officers report they discovered five glass vials with yellow lids containing vegetation believed to be marijuana. The woman, who was …

In January, we brought you the story of a vigilant mom who turned in her child to Collingswood Police after discovering items taken from a car burglary in his room. A month later, authorities say, she did it again. On Feb. 23, officers were dispatched to the Heights of Collingswood parking lot to investigate a report of a juvenile suspect trying to enter a parked motor vehicle. The caller advised that she was the individual's mother, and she had observed her son trying the doors of several parked cars in the lot. Her son had told her he was leaving the apartment to finish his laundry, police …

A vehicle stop on the White Horse Pike led Collingswood police to another drug arrest earlier this month. At 12:45 p.m. on Feb. 3, police pulled over Dwayne Hird, 33, of Haddon Township, for alleged motor vehicle violations in the 100 block of the White Horse Pike. In the course of their interaction with Hird, police allege he possessed what they believed to be crack-cocaine and related paraphernalia. Hird was charged with possession of a controlled, dangerous substance (CDS) and possession of paraphernalia, as well as an assortment of motor vehicle infractions. He was remanded to the Camden …

A pair of would-be vehicle burglaries in the borough were stymied by the timely arrival of Collingswood Police and some stern weather stripping. According to police, between 3 p.m. Jan. 30 and 4 p.m. Jan. 31, unknown individuals attempted to break into a secured Honda Civic parked in the 400 block of Route 130. Police say the would-be burglar (or burglars) attempted to pry open the driver’s side door and weather stripping, but their efforts were in vain. Detectives processed the scene for physical evidence, but have no suspects at this time. The car wasn't entirely unscathed either: Police …