Police Beat

From the week of April 27
BORDENTOWN CITY
   Robert Lipski, 48, of Trenton was charged with possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia on April 20.
   According to police, officers on random patrol of the parking lot behind the Emporium adult shop around 8 p.m. that night spotted Mr. Lipski sitting in his car, repeatedly lighting a pipe. In speaking with Mr. Lipski, police said, officers smelled burnt marijuana and discovered a small pipe and a plastic baggie filled with "greenish-brown vegetation" sitting on the passenger seat.
   Mr. Lipski was charged and released on his own recognizance, pending a court appearance.

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   A routine traffic stop near the intersection of Crosswicks Street and Farnsworth Avenue at 10:45 a.m. April 15 led police to charge a Willingboro man with possession of 82 grams of marijuana and a Trenton man with hindering his own apprehension.
   According to police, officers stopped 35-year-old Frank Green of Willingboro after clocking him driving 36 mph through a 25-mph zone. Police said officers saw an open bottle of beer in the passenger seat at the stop and brought the department’s police dog, Sandy, to check for drugs. Police said officers found a stash of marijuana packed in 11 sandwich baggies in the car.
   Meanwhile, police said, the passenger, 31-year-old James Muse of Trenton, gave police a false name. Police said officers discovered that Mr. Muse was wanted on a $448 contempt of court warrant issued by Trenton.
   Mr. Muse was charged with hindering apprehension and contempt and was released after paying his fine. Mr. Green was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a CDS with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. He was taken to the Burlington County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.
FLORENCE
   Police charged a 44-year-old woman in connection with a knife attack against a Roebling man last week.
   According to police, officers received a 911 call from 46-year-old Robert Chanti shortly after midnight April 20. Mr. Chanti requested an ambulance, saying he had been stabbed at the door of acquaintance Maria Murisan, who lives on the 500 block of Fifth Street in Roebling, police said.
   When officers arrived, police said, Mr. Chanti told them he had gotten into an argument at Ms. Murisan’s door that came to a head when Ms. Murisan slashed him with a 6½-inch switchblade knife. Police said Mr. Chanti was taken to Lourdes Medical Center in Willingboro for treatment of a 5-inch knife wound in his torso, and has since been released.
   Police said officers confiscated the knife used in the assault and a second switchblade inside Ms. Murisan’s house. She was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a prohibited weapon and taken to the Burlington County Minimum Security Detention Center in lieu of $40,000 bail.

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    Township police last week charged two men in connection with gunshots fired near the River Line train station, in the same area that saw a similar gunshot-related arrest in January.
   According to police, officers responded to reports of gunshots being fired in the area of Second and Zinc streets just before 1 a.m. on April 19. Police said officers tracked the shots to 20-year-old Brian Howard of Burlington. According to the report, Mr. Howard had fired a .44 caliber handgun at a man (police have withheld his identity) after an altercation and then passed on the gun to 25-year-old Travis Appleton of Roebling, who fired shots into the air.
   Police said officers found four spent shell casings on the ground. Mr. Howard and Mr. Appleton both were charged with possession of a firearm and possession of a handgun without a permit. Mr. Howard in addition was charged with aggravated assault; Mr. Appleton also was charged with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. Both were taken to the Burlington County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
   The incident comes three months after 27-year-old Rashawnn Alexander, a West Fifth Street resident, was charged with several weapons offenses in connection with a series of shots fired into the air near Foundry Street. Despite that arrest, however, police say there does not appear to be a connection between the incidents.
   "I think in general, there’s a lot more guns out there," said Police Capt. Joseph Gadbois Monday. Capt. Gadbois attributed last week’s shots to a personal incident between Mr. Howard, Mr. Appleton and the man at whom shots reportedly were fired.
   Though he said police are unhappy to know gunshots have been fired at all —"Even (if you’re) shooting into the air, it’s got to come down" — Capt. Gadbois said he is glad no one was hurt and even more glad that weapons are getting off the streets. "Every gun we take off the street," he said, "means less chance of somebody getting hurt."
   What makes the police very happy in this incident, Capt. Gadbois said, is the response of the residents of the area. As police presence has increased around the River Line station area, in the shadow of the Roebling Steel Mill, he said, residents have become more apt to call the police — which he said is great.
   "Sometimes, when you’re not there … you may not even get phone calls," he said. He said, however, that the police are there (in fact, officers responded to the shots call within one minute) and will "investigate aggressively" any and all reports of gun crimes. He added that police presence will remain higher in areas where people are expected to congregate, such as bars, the train station or public events.
   "Where there are crowds, there’s us," he said. "We’re going to be there."