Police Beat

From the May 29 Register-News
    On May 8, police responded to a report of a theft from the Goodwill store on Route 206.
    Police said a manager said he closed the store at 9:15 p.m. on May 7 with a deposit of $1,271 in the safe. The cash was kept in a sealed plastic First Union Bank envelope and the safe was locked when the manager left, police said.
    Store managers said they noticed that the safe was open and money was missing at about 2:30 p.m. May 8, police said. Both said they were the only two people in the store at that time who had the keys to the office and combination to the safe, police said. They also said that the safe was locked and office door was closed earlier that day.
    The employees said $361 also was missing from petty cash.

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    Hannah L. Flynn, 23, of Hamilton, was charged with driving while intoxicated at 2:15 a.m. May 11, said police.
    Officers traveling south on Route 206 found Ms. Flynn’s car, a Nissan Pathfinder, stopped in the center of the roadway near Stanton Avenue, police said. The car was on the dashed center white line of the road, police said.
    When officers pulled up behind the car and activated the emergency warning lights of the patrol car, the driver of the car did not move the vehicle, police said. Officers approached the car and found that the driver, Ms. Flynn, was slouched in her seat with her head leaning toward the center of the car, police said.
    The officer reached through the open driver side window to turn off the car, which was still running, when Ms. Flynn woke up, police said. When asked what she was doing, Ms. Flynn said she was waiting for some friends, police said.
    Police said officers asked Ms. Flynn to pull her car to the side of the road, which she did. Officers again approached the car and, as they were speaking with Ms. Flynn, detected an odor of alcohol on her breath, police said. When asked for her identification, Ms. Flynn’s movements were slow and she was having trouble locating them, police said.
    Ms. Flynn was given a field sobriety test, which she failed, police said. Her blood alcohol content was .13 percent, police said.
    Ms. Flynn was given a court date of May 12 and released to a family member.

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    Gerald James Bess, 58, of Fairview, Ore., was charged with obstruction of a police investigation at 11:52 p.m. May 14 at the Petro Truck Stop on Route 206, said police.
    Officers said Mr. Bess was told several times to return to his truck while they were conducting an unrelated domestic violence investigation, according to police. At one point, officers asked Mr. Bess to remove his hands from his pockets for officer safety, police said. Mr. Bess replied that if he had wanted to, he would have already killed the officer, police said.
   As he was led back to his truck, Mr. Bess shouted profanities at the officers, further disrupting the investigation, police said. He was then taken into custody, police said, and he complained of arm and shoulder pain on the way to the station. The officers requested that medical personnel be dispatched to the station, but Mr. Bess refused all medical attention when they arrived, police said.
    Mr. Bess was issued one summons for obstruction and one for possession of open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle because officers found several beer cans in his truck. He was then transported back to his truck.

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    Christopher K. Jones, 26, of Willingboro, was charged with impersonating a police officer and having several outstanding warrants at 12:58 a.m. May 7.
    Officers did a random check of a license plate and found that it was registered to a different vehicle, police said. The officers stopped the car in front of Anthony’s Pizza on Route 206. Once the car was stopped, Mr. Jones jumped out of his vehicle and pulled out a badge, saying that he was a corrections officer at the Garden State Correctional Facility, police said.
    Officers ordered Mr. Jones to get back into his vehicle and asked him to provide his identification. Mr. Jones only provided an insurance card and said the car belonged to his brother and that he did not know why the car had a fake license plate, police said.
    When Mr. Jones provided his drivers license, officers found that it was suspended and that there were warrants for his arrest from Woodland and Burlington townships, police said.
    At the station, Mr. Jones was asked if he had his identification card, police said. He said he did not and admitted that he was not an officer, but had found the badge, police said. Officers called the correctional facility and confirmed that he was not a corrections officer, but a communication officer, which does not require a badge, police said.
    Bail for Mr. Jones was set at $3,500, and he was transported to the Burlington County Jail to answer the outstanding warrants.

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    Margaret Patterson, 23, of Burlington City, was charged with theft and possession of marijuana on April 28.
    Police were notified by employees at the Peoples Savings Bank on Farnsworth Avenue that three counterfeit checks were allegedly cashed by an ex-
employee, Ms. Patterson, on April 11. Bank employees were notified the checks were counterfeit on April 18, police said.
    The bank manager told officers that one of the tellers remembered that Ms. Patterson had cashed the checks at the drive-through window, police said. The item was a payroll check made payable to Ms. Patterson in the amount of $973 from a business located in Cherry Hill, police said.
    Bank employees said Ms. Patterson allegedly tried cashing checks at the Mt. Laurel branch, in the amount of $964, and at the Marlton branch, for $946. Employees at those two branches also knew Ms. Patterson, police said.
   In a formal interview at the police station, Ms. Patterson denied cashing any of the checks at any of the branches and gave written consent for her vehicle to be searched for more checks, police said.
    While conducting the search, officers found a small bag of marijuana in the glove compartment, but no other checks, police said.
    Bail was set for Ms. Patterson at $8,500. She posted 10 percent and was released.

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    Luis A. Rodriguez, 27, of Trenton, was charged with driving while intoxicated at 1:05 p.m. on April 29.
    Officers traveling south on Route 206 saw Mr. Rodriguez’s car swerving in the left lane at 38 mph in a 50 mph zone, police said. Officers stopped Mr. Rodriguez near the Point Breeze Apartments.
    Officers asked for Mr. Rodriguez’s license, registration, and proof of insurance, but police said he had trouble following instructions. Officers saw alcohol in the vehicle and noticed the odor of alcohol coming from the car, police said.
    When questioned about the alcohol, Mr. Rodriguez stated that he was not drinking, police said. Mr. Rodriguez was given a field sobriety test, which he failed, police said. His blood alcohol content was .24 percent, police said. He was served with a summons and was later released to a friend.