Police Blotter: Stolen Fireworks, DUI Arrest, Broken Windows, Physical Fight Between Son and Father

$853 Worth of Stolen Fireworks

On June 28 at approximately 9:50 a.m., Newtown police responded to the tent of in the Newtown Square Shopping Center parking lot for a reported theft. Upon arrival, police said they spoke with the business owner. According to the incident report, the owner stated that sometime overnight, someone had broken into the storage container and took several boxes of fireworks and a trash can. Police informed her that an officer was checking on businesses the night before and came across the storage container to find it open, and then secured the storage container with the lock he found on the ground, according to the incident report. The owner told police she was "absolutely sure" that the pad lock was locked and secured when she left the night before. Police showed her that the pad lock was not damaged and if the storage container was locked, someone must have opened the container with a key. The total value of items taken is $853.

Driver Arrested for More Than Double Alcohol Content

On June 20 at approximately 11:26 p.m., Newtown police was in the 4600 block of West Chester Pike/Route 3 conducting traffic detail. The officer was in the left-turn lane of the Newtown Business Center and facing west when a group of vehicles were seen traveling east with the lead vehicle being a blue Ford Edge, according to the incident report. The officer said when he observed the Ford, which occupied the inside lane, it began to move toward the center divide and pulled away from the center divide, moments before striking it. According to the report, the officer waited for the group of vehicles to pass and made a U-turn to begin following them.

Police said as the officer maneuvered his way through the group of vehicles, he was able to see the Ford Edge nearly stirking the center divide several times as it veered within the lane of travel and into the outer lane of travel. According to police, the officer stopped the Ford Edge which had a Delaware license plate on the 3800 block of West Chester Pike where police made the arrest of Howard Theckston, 45, of Wilmington, DE.

The driver had opened his driver’s side door, in which the officer was able to detect a strong odor of alocohol. According to the report, the officer said he watched Theckston fumble through his wallet attempting to find his license. When the officer asked Theckston if he had been drinking, the driver confirmed that he had while at a golf outing in Chester County.

According to the report, police performed a breathalyzer test on Theckston in which a 0.242 percent blood alcohol content was recorded. Theckston participated in two additional field sobriety tests which he failed, said police. He was arrested for DUI and was taken to Springfield Hospital where two vials of blood were withdrawn.

Large Rocks Shatters Windows of Ladies Room at High School Stadium

On June 20 at 8:53 a.m., police responded to on Media Line Road for a report of a criminal mischief incident. Upon arrival, police met with a maintenance foreman of the school, who reported that someone broke the windows in the ladies room inside the stadium. According to the report, the forman showed police the restrooms inside the stadium. The restrooms are in a standalone concrete block building located in the northeast corner of the stadium, said police. Sometime over the weekend, someone threw several large rocks through the ladies room windows, breaking both of them, said police.

The rocks were still inside the ladies room, which was still locked when the janitor arrived to clean the rooms that morning at 8:30 a.m. When he discovered the damage, he reported it to his supervisor, who then called the police, according to the incident report. Police said they were not able to locate any other damage on the property.

The windows in the ladies room are approximately 10 feet above ground and face the east side of the complex. The rocks were of no forensic value, said police, and probably originated at the high school construction site nearby. The replacement cost of the two windows were valued to be approximately $400.

Physical Fight Between Father and Son Results in Severe Cut to Son's Leg

On June 19 at approximately 7:25 p.m., police responded to a home on Rockwood Road for a domestic physical fight involving a father and son. When Newtown police approached the front door of the residence, police said they heard screaming and other sounds of struggle coming from inside the home. According to the report, police entered through the open front door and proceeded to the kitchen area where they observed the son, who was on the ground of the kitchen bleeding heavily from his right lower leg/shin area.

An officer assisted the son out of the kitchen and requested EMS to treat him. After the officer removed the son from the kitchen area, police said, the officer met with Edward Meehan, 63, the father, who told police that he and his son were arguing because his son was going through the kitchen trash can.

As a result of the argument, the man ‘shoved’ the son who fell to the ground on top of a glass bottle causing a severe laceration to the son’s right lower leg area which required medical attention at the scene and a follow up at a local hospital, said police. Meehan was charged with two counts: an attempt of simple assault and harrasment/strike, shove, kick, etc.