Police Blotter: Compactor, A/C Units Stolen, Theft From Cars, Two-Car Crash, and DUI

A/C, Compressor Units Stolen From Property

On April 7 at approximately 9:50 a.m., Marple police responded to Danjollel Funeral Home on West Chester Pike for a reported theft. Police spoke to the woman in charge at the property, who stated the funeral home was having problems with their air conditioning system. According to the woman, workers came yesterday to fix the system only to notify them that the compressor was missing from behind the building, according to the incident report. Police stated in the incident report, the tubing and wiring had been cut and the whole unit was removed from the surrounding trees. Police are still investigating this incident.

On April 7 at approximately 1:50 p.m., police responded to the Sussex building off of Lawrence Road for a reported theft of two exterior air conditioner unit. A man at the building told police that that they were stolen some time in the past six months, according to the incident report. The estimated cost to repair and replace the units were valued at about approximately $10,000. 

On April 13 at approximately 12:40 p.m., police reported to DiMarco Management Group Inc. in the Marple Crossroads Shopping Center parking lot off of State Road in Springfield for a reported stolen compactor. A yellow 2009 Stone Trench compactor was stolen from the rear of the parking lot, stated the incident report. An employee of DiMarco Management Group told police that the compactor was left in the rear of the parking lot where the company was working on a project there. The trench compactor was there with a backhoe until the backhoe was taken from there to be use on a different project. According to the incident report, the backhoe was returned on either April 7 or April 8 and the trench compactor was observed to still be there. Employees discovered the compactor to be missing on April 13 and determined it to be stolen, according to the incident report. The compctor is valued at approximately $34,000. Police are still investigating this incident.

Two-Car Crash, Injuring Two Due to Looking at Cell Phone

On April 8 at approximately 9:30 p.m., police responded to a two-car crash involving three and injuring two on the southbound lanes of Lawrence Road and the eastbound lane of Sussex Boulevard.

Upon arrival of the crash, police discovered the two vehicles were partially blocking Lawrence Road and two injuries had already been reported. Robert Gildea, 19, of Springfield was driving a Chrysler Sebring heading south on Lawrence Road when he attempted to make a left turn onto Sussex Boulevard. In the midst of turning, Gildea crashed into a Ford Explorer, who was traveling north on Lawrence Road.

According to the incident report, Gildea admitted he was looking at his cell phone when he attempted to make the turn off Lawrence Road. He was charged for careless driving. Both cars were towed from the scene. The southbound lanes of Lawrence Road were partially closed for less than 30 minutes. The driver and a passenger of the Explorer were transported by the Marple Ambulance Corps to Crozer-Chester Hospital.

Series of Cars Broken Into, Money and Items Stolen Throughout the Day

On April 12 just before 7 a.m., police responded to a reported theft on Barclay Lane where a resident told police someone had went into his son’s unlocked Honda Accord and removed an unknown amount of change of quarters and dimes, according to the incident report. Police reported the car had been unlocked during this time. Police are still investigating this incident.

On April 12 at around 10:50 a.m., a man entered the police station for a reported theft from his vehicle at his home on Woodlawn Avenue that occurred sometime overnight. According to the incident report, the man stated the car was parked alongside the home around 7 p.m. April 11 to 8:30 a.m. April 12. Upon entering the car, the man discovered the center console cup holder missing from the vehicle which contained $15 in loose change. The man told police that there was a problem with his vehicle alarm and had left his car door unlocked, stated the incident report. Police are still investigating this incident.

On April 12 around 12:45 p.m., another man entered the police station to report that at approximately 5 p.m. on April 11 and 8 a.m. April 12, someone had entered his unlocked vehicle and had taken various  credit cards as well as his health insurance and social security cards. Police are still investigating this incident.

On April 12 at 10:30 p.m., police responded to a reported theft on Mark Terrace. The resident there told police that he noticed an iPod missing from his vehicle. The report states, the man had confirmed that none of his family members took it and realized someone had stolen it. Police are still investigating this incident

Driver Under the Influence Crashes Into Parked Car

On April 13 at approximately 1:40 a.m., police responded to a two car-crash involving one off of the westbound lanes of West Chester Pike between Lindbergh Avenue and Ferguson Avenue.

Scott Morris of Newtown Square, 35, was charged for driving under the influence with a blood alcohol content level of .08 percent.

According to the incident report, Morris was driving a Chevrolet truck heading west on West Chester Pike when he started drifting on to the shoulder of the road, where he struck a parked car.

The police report states the impact of the crash had Morris head back onto the roadway only to end up on top of the center median where the car evenually came to a stop.

A witness was on scene, who told police in the report that the owner of the parked car came outside his home and found Morris in his own vehicle attempting to reverse his truck off the median.

The driver attempted to leave the scene but was located by police, states the incident report. The westbound lanes of West Chester Pike were partially closed for less than 30 minutes and the truck was towed from the scene.