By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Four men have been charged in connection with several unrelated burglaries that have occurred in Lawrence Township within the past five months, according to police Lt. Charles B. Edgar.
Rufus Thompson, 23, of Trenton, and an 18-year-old Hamilton Township man each have been charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of theft and one count of attempted burglary, Lt. Edgar said. The name of the 18-year-old is being withheld because he was 17 when the incidents occurred.
The two men allegedly burglarized a house on Trumbull Avenue on Sept. 10, entered the Sunoco gasoline station on Brunswick Pike on Sept. 14 and tried unsuccessfully to break into Captain Paul’s Firehouse Dogs restaurant on Princeton Pike on Sept. 15, he said.
Police also arrested Philip Gassler, 46, who lives in Trenton, in connection with burglary and theft after allegedly breaking into four businesses on Shinney Lane last month. He allegedly stole an assortment of tools, valued at more than $16,000.
Mark Strycharz, 28, of Michigan Avenue in Lawrence, has been charged with three counts of burglary after allegedly breaking into a Stonicker Drive home on Feb. 3, a Crabapple Lane home on Jan. 24, and a Michigan Avenue residence Dec. 3, Lt. Edgar said.

