Community
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/05/23 at 9:56 AM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Parking lot of Wegmans, 240 Nassau Park Blvd.
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. M. Thompson #5120
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Ricky F. Sanchez
Resident of Hamilton, NJ
DETAILS: On December 4th, a victim had mistakenly left her wallet in the shopping cart she was using while at Lidl in Lawrence Township. She realized this after she got into her car, so she went back, and there she saw a man next to the cart she had just used. She asked the man about her missing wallet, but he denied any knowledge of it and left. The victim had a tracking device in her stolen wallet, and the next day, GPS indicated that her wallet was somewhere in the parking lot of Wegmans. She drove there and found the signal was coming from a black Ford SUV so she called police for assistance. Officers and Detectives arrived on scene and located the driver of the black SUV, Ricky Sanchez, inside the store. The victim immediately recognized Sanchez as the same man she had spoken to about her missing wallet the night before. The victim’s wallet was found under the driver’s seat of the SUV, with nearly everything in it except $300.00 cash and a disability card. Sanchez was arrested and later released pending a future date in court.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-34670 Theft
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/08/23 between 1:30 PM & 2:00 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Wholefoods Market, 3495 U.S. Route 1
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. M. Thompson #5120
DETAILS: Ptl. Thompson met with the victim of a theft who reported the following: She was at the Wholefoods Market and had placed her purse in the child seat portion of her cart. When she went to the checkout to pay for her items, her wallet was missing from her purse and she believed it had been stolen while she was shopping.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-34794 Burglary (Residential)
Service of Warrants
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/09/23 at 11:03 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Unoccupied Residence on Village Rd. West
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. C. Connell #5116
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Chad B. Nelson
Resident of South Burlington, VT
DETAILS: Patrol officers responded to a burglary at an unoccupied residential property. The owner of the residence saw someone enter his house via video cameras installed outside and notified police. Ptl. Connell, Ptl. Fattibene, and Ptl. Borup found the rear sliding door to the house unlocked, opened the door and ordered the burglar to come out. Chad Nelson complied and surrendered himself to officers. Nelson was also found to have warrants for his arrest from West Windsor, Robbinsville, and Columbus. He was processed at WWPD and committed to the Mercer County Correction Center.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-34947 Theft
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/09/23 between 12:30 PM & 1:00 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Home Goods, 201 Nassau Park Blvd.
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. C. Crawford #5108
DETAILS: Ptl. Crawford met with the victim of theft who related the following: She had been shopping at the Home Goods store and had placed her purse in the child seat portion of her cart. While shopping, a suspect unexpectedly engaged her in a conversation about some merchandise while another suspect stood nearby. When she went to make a purchase, she realized her wallet was gone. A short time later she received credit card alerts on her phone for purchases being attempted at the Apple Store located in the Quakerbridge Mall.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-34948 Theft
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/10/23 between 3:15 PM & 4:45 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Tommy’s Tap + Tavern, 3535 U.S. Route 1
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. A. Ventura #5118
DETAILS: Ptl. Ventura met with the victim of a theft who related the following: After dining at Tommy’s Tap + Tavern, she went to get her wallet from her purse to pay, and that is when she realized it had been stolen. A short time later, she received fraud alerts indicating that someone had attempted to use her credit cards at both Wawa and CVS in Lawrence Township.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-35156 Shoplifting
Fugitive from Justice
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/13/23 at 2:42 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: TJ Maxx, 210 Nassau Park Blvd.
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. M. Thompson #5120
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Jose A. Cruz
Resident of Philadelphia, PA
DETAILS: Ptl. Thompson was on patrol of the Nassau Park Pavilion when he was waved over by a Loss Prevention Investigator from TJ Maxx. The Investigator told Ptl. Thompson that a male who got into a blue Chrysler SUV had just shoplifted from the store. Ptl. Thompson caught up to the Chrysler on Quakerbridge Rd. and stopped it. The shoplifter, Jose Cruz, provided police with a false name and date of birth. Investigation found that Cruz had selected $408.94 worth of merchandise that he put into a shopping cart. He then went to the checkout line where he waited for a short time before exiting the store without paying. Fingerprints taken from Cruz revealed his true identity, and that he was a “Wanted Person” out of Bucks County, PA. Cruz had also shoplifted $598 worth of merchandise from TJ Maxx on 12/10 (Case #2023-35159). Cruz was charged with both shopliftings and committed to the Mercer County Correction Center pending a detention hearing and extradition proceedings.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-35371 Shoplifting
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/15/23 at 9:58 AM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Target, 500 Nassau Park Blvd.
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Winnie F. Wolokollie
Resident of Ewing, NJ
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. J. Chowanec #5119
DETAILS: Ptl. Chowanec was detailed to Target for a shoplifter who was being detained by store Asset Protection. Investigation found that Winnie Wolokollie went to the self-checkout line and paid for some items, but failed to scan and pay for $79.98 worth of baby formula. Wolokollie was processed at WWPD and released pending a future date in West Windsor Municipal Court.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-35484 Shoplifting
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/16/23 at 12:38 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Lenscrafters, 3535 U.S. Route 1
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. A. Mangone #5112
DETAILS: Patrol Units were detailed to a shoplifting that had just occurred at the Lenscrafters located in the MarketFair mall. The shoplifters had fled the scene prior to police arrival. Investigation found that two male suspects entered the store and went directly to the designer frames and glasses display. They began grabbing as many Prada and Versace frames/glasses as they could, and two minutes after entering the store, left with $14,942.00 worth of designer glasses/frames.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-35795 Shoplifting
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/19/23 at 12:58 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Target, 500 Nassau Park Blvd.
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Brenna N. Gase
Resident of Amherst, NH
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. M. Thompson #5120
DETAILS: Ptl. Thompson was detailed to Target for a shoplifter who was being detained by store Asset Protection. Investigation found that Brenna Gase went to the self-checkout and scanned $28.00 worth of groceries, but failed to scan and pay for $399.55 worth of merchandise. Gase was processed at WWPD and released pending a future court date.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-36303 Service of Warrants
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/24/23 at 8:50 AM
LOCATION OCCURRED: 746 Alexander Road
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. B. Caulfield #5107
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Challah W. Smith
Resident of Philadelphia, PA
DETAILS: Ptl. Caulfield was detailed to 746 Alexander Road for someone who was trespassing. A maintenance worker had gone to the office building for a door alarm activation. When he checked the building, he found Challah Smith sleeping in the hallway. When confronted, Smith left the building. Ptl. Caulfield located Smith walking towards the Princeton Junction Train Station. He was found to have warrants for his arrest from Trenton, Hamilton, and Camden. Smith was arrested for the warrants and later released pending future court dates at the aforementioned jurisdictions.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENTS: 2023-36542 Burglary (Attempt)
2023-36556 Criminal Mischief
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/25/23 – 12/26/23 (Reported on 12/27/23)
LOCATION OCCURRED: Parking lot of Five Below, 221 Nassau Park Blvd.
OFFICER: Ptl. F. Zicha #596
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Accused: Sudhir Maharjan
Resident of Lawrence, NJ
DETAILS: Ptl. Zicha met with the victim of an attempted burglary and criminal mischief to his electric vehicle (EV). The victim reported that after seeing several scratches to the paint on his Tesla, he reviewed video footage from his cars’ cameras. He discovered that while his EV was parked and charging at the charging station located in the parking lot of the Five Below store on Christmas day, a male tried to get into his car by pulling on the door handle. The next day, his EV was parked and charging at the same location, when the same person, walked up to his car and scratched the paint in three different places. The longest scratch was approximately eight inches long. Video from the victim’s Tesla EV also captured the license plate from the Ford EV the suspect was driving. Investigation identified the owner of the Ford EV, Sudhir Maharjan, as the offender on both dates. Maharjan was charged with the aforementioned offenses and has a pending court date.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
DATE OF RELEASE: 01/10/2024
*Please note that charges are merely accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Press Release - December 2023 Blotter
WEST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP POLICE DEPARTMENT
20 Municipal Drive * P.O. Box 38
West Windsor, New Jersey 08550
ROBERT GAROFALO PhD(c), Chief of Police
PRESS INFORMATION
INCIDENT: 2023-34297 Receiving Stolen Property20 Municipal Drive * P.O. Box 38
West Windsor, New Jersey 08550
ROBERT GAROFALO PhD(c), Chief of Police
PRESS INFORMATION
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/05/23 at 9:56 AM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Parking lot of Wegmans, 240 Nassau Park Blvd.
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. M. Thompson #5120
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Ricky F. Sanchez
Resident of Hamilton, NJ
DETAILS: On December 4th, a victim had mistakenly left her wallet in the shopping cart she was using while at Lidl in Lawrence Township. She realized this after she got into her car, so she went back, and there she saw a man next to the cart she had just used. She asked the man about her missing wallet, but he denied any knowledge of it and left. The victim had a tracking device in her stolen wallet, and the next day, GPS indicated that her wallet was somewhere in the parking lot of Wegmans. She drove there and found the signal was coming from a black Ford SUV so she called police for assistance. Officers and Detectives arrived on scene and located the driver of the black SUV, Ricky Sanchez, inside the store. The victim immediately recognized Sanchez as the same man she had spoken to about her missing wallet the night before. The victim’s wallet was found under the driver’s seat of the SUV, with nearly everything in it except $300.00 cash and a disability card. Sanchez was arrested and later released pending a future date in court.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-34670 Theft
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/08/23 between 1:30 PM & 2:00 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Wholefoods Market, 3495 U.S. Route 1
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. M. Thompson #5120
DETAILS: Ptl. Thompson met with the victim of a theft who reported the following: She was at the Wholefoods Market and had placed her purse in the child seat portion of her cart. When she went to the checkout to pay for her items, her wallet was missing from her purse and she believed it had been stolen while she was shopping.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-34794 Burglary (Residential)
Service of Warrants
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/09/23 at 11:03 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Unoccupied Residence on Village Rd. West
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. C. Connell #5116
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Chad B. Nelson
Resident of South Burlington, VT
DETAILS: Patrol officers responded to a burglary at an unoccupied residential property. The owner of the residence saw someone enter his house via video cameras installed outside and notified police. Ptl. Connell, Ptl. Fattibene, and Ptl. Borup found the rear sliding door to the house unlocked, opened the door and ordered the burglar to come out. Chad Nelson complied and surrendered himself to officers. Nelson was also found to have warrants for his arrest from West Windsor, Robbinsville, and Columbus. He was processed at WWPD and committed to the Mercer County Correction Center.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-34947 Theft
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/09/23 between 12:30 PM & 1:00 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Home Goods, 201 Nassau Park Blvd.
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. C. Crawford #5108
DETAILS: Ptl. Crawford met with the victim of theft who related the following: She had been shopping at the Home Goods store and had placed her purse in the child seat portion of her cart. While shopping, a suspect unexpectedly engaged her in a conversation about some merchandise while another suspect stood nearby. When she went to make a purchase, she realized her wallet was gone. A short time later she received credit card alerts on her phone for purchases being attempted at the Apple Store located in the Quakerbridge Mall.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-34948 Theft
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/10/23 between 3:15 PM & 4:45 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Tommy’s Tap + Tavern, 3535 U.S. Route 1
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. A. Ventura #5118
DETAILS: Ptl. Ventura met with the victim of a theft who related the following: After dining at Tommy’s Tap + Tavern, she went to get her wallet from her purse to pay, and that is when she realized it had been stolen. A short time later, she received fraud alerts indicating that someone had attempted to use her credit cards at both Wawa and CVS in Lawrence Township.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-35156 Shoplifting
Fugitive from Justice
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/13/23 at 2:42 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: TJ Maxx, 210 Nassau Park Blvd.
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. M. Thompson #5120
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Jose A. Cruz
Resident of Philadelphia, PA
DETAILS: Ptl. Thompson was on patrol of the Nassau Park Pavilion when he was waved over by a Loss Prevention Investigator from TJ Maxx. The Investigator told Ptl. Thompson that a male who got into a blue Chrysler SUV had just shoplifted from the store. Ptl. Thompson caught up to the Chrysler on Quakerbridge Rd. and stopped it. The shoplifter, Jose Cruz, provided police with a false name and date of birth. Investigation found that Cruz had selected $408.94 worth of merchandise that he put into a shopping cart. He then went to the checkout line where he waited for a short time before exiting the store without paying. Fingerprints taken from Cruz revealed his true identity, and that he was a “Wanted Person” out of Bucks County, PA. Cruz had also shoplifted $598 worth of merchandise from TJ Maxx on 12/10 (Case #2023-35159). Cruz was charged with both shopliftings and committed to the Mercer County Correction Center pending a detention hearing and extradition proceedings.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-35371 Shoplifting
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/15/23 at 9:58 AM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Target, 500 Nassau Park Blvd.
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Winnie F. Wolokollie
Resident of Ewing, NJ
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. J. Chowanec #5119
DETAILS: Ptl. Chowanec was detailed to Target for a shoplifter who was being detained by store Asset Protection. Investigation found that Winnie Wolokollie went to the self-checkout line and paid for some items, but failed to scan and pay for $79.98 worth of baby formula. Wolokollie was processed at WWPD and released pending a future date in West Windsor Municipal Court.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-35484 Shoplifting
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/16/23 at 12:38 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Lenscrafters, 3535 U.S. Route 1
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. A. Mangone #5112
DETAILS: Patrol Units were detailed to a shoplifting that had just occurred at the Lenscrafters located in the MarketFair mall. The shoplifters had fled the scene prior to police arrival. Investigation found that two male suspects entered the store and went directly to the designer frames and glasses display. They began grabbing as many Prada and Versace frames/glasses as they could, and two minutes after entering the store, left with $14,942.00 worth of designer glasses/frames.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-35795 Shoplifting
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/19/23 at 12:58 PM
LOCATION OCCURRED: Target, 500 Nassau Park Blvd.
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Brenna N. Gase
Resident of Amherst, NH
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. M. Thompson #5120
DETAILS: Ptl. Thompson was detailed to Target for a shoplifter who was being detained by store Asset Protection. Investigation found that Brenna Gase went to the self-checkout and scanned $28.00 worth of groceries, but failed to scan and pay for $399.55 worth of merchandise. Gase was processed at WWPD and released pending a future court date.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENT: 2023-36303 Service of Warrants
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/24/23 at 8:50 AM
LOCATION OCCURRED: 746 Alexander Road
REPORTING OFFICER: Ptl. B. Caulfield #5107
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Arrested: Challah W. Smith
Resident of Philadelphia, PA
DETAILS: Ptl. Caulfield was detailed to 746 Alexander Road for someone who was trespassing. A maintenance worker had gone to the office building for a door alarm activation. When he checked the building, he found Challah Smith sleeping in the hallway. When confronted, Smith left the building. Ptl. Caulfield located Smith walking towards the Princeton Junction Train Station. He was found to have warrants for his arrest from Trenton, Hamilton, and Camden. Smith was arrested for the warrants and later released pending future court dates at the aforementioned jurisdictions.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
INCIDENTS: 2023-36542 Burglary (Attempt)
2023-36556 Criminal Mischief
DATE & TIME OCCURRED: 12/25/23 – 12/26/23 (Reported on 12/27/23)
LOCATION OCCURRED: Parking lot of Five Below, 221 Nassau Park Blvd.
OFFICER: Ptl. F. Zicha #596
WHO: (ARRESTED, INJURED, DRIVER, VICTIM, OTHER)
Accused: Sudhir Maharjan
Resident of Lawrence, NJ
DETAILS: Ptl. Zicha met with the victim of an attempted burglary and criminal mischief to his electric vehicle (EV). The victim reported that after seeing several scratches to the paint on his Tesla, he reviewed video footage from his cars’ cameras. He discovered that while his EV was parked and charging at the charging station located in the parking lot of the Five Below store on Christmas day, a male tried to get into his car by pulling on the door handle. The next day, his EV was parked and charging at the same location, when the same person, walked up to his car and scratched the paint in three different places. The longest scratch was approximately eight inches long. Video from the victim’s Tesla EV also captured the license plate from the Ford EV the suspect was driving. Investigation identified the owner of the Ford EV, Sudhir Maharjan, as the offender on both dates. Maharjan was charged with the aforementioned offenses and has a pending court date.
OFFICER PREPARING RELEASE: Lt. Lai #370
****************
DATE OF RELEASE: 01/10/2024
*Please note that charges are merely accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Address/Location
West Windsor Police Department, NJ
271 Clarksville Rd
West Windsor Township, NJ 08550
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 609-799-1222
TEXT-A-TIP - Text TIP WWPD followed by your message, to 888777
