POLICE BLOTTER

   CITY OF LAMBERTVILLE police are asking residents to be aware of suspicious telephone calls from persons identifying themselves as Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents or other law enforcement agencies, in order to extort victims nationwide.
   A local resident reported having received a telephone call from a suspect identifying himself as an agent with the DEA. The suspect informed the victim that ordering medication over the Internet or by telephone was illegal and that law enforcement action would be taken against them. The suspect then demanded that the victim pay a certain amount of money for alleged “fines” or they would either be arrested or subject to having their residence searched. The citizen refused and reported the incident instead.
   No law enforcement agency will ask for money to pay “fines” over the telephone and to have the money shipped via wire transfer. This is an ongoing problem nationwide and most of the victims involved have previously ordered medication online. Also victims who had ordered medication online have found that the credit card used to make the purchase has been fraudulently used as well.
   It is illegal to purchase controlled substance pharmaceuticals online, or by telephone, unless strict requirements are met. Anyone receiving a telephone call from a person purporting to be a DEA agent, or other law enforcement agent, seeking money, should refuse the demand and instead report the threat to his/her local law enforcement agency or the DEA at 1-877-792-2873.
    Lambertville police also reported:
   — Kara Paglianti, 46, of Lambertville, was taken into custody on March 10 for credit card theft as a result of an investigation of a possible identity theft. Detective Michael Miloszar conducted the investigation after receiving a complaint from a local resident who claimed an unknown person had apparently taken his replacement credit card from the mail and ran up charges of over $4.000. As a result of the investigation, Ms. Paglianti was identified and subsequently charged with fraudulent use of a credit card. She was later released on her own recognizance with a pending court date.
   — Michael Prince, 27, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, was taken into custody on an active warrant on March 7 as a result of a motor vehicle stop. Officer Anthony Memolo stopped a commercial box truck on Route 165, in the area of Route 518, at 7:30 a.m. after he saw that the truck was not bearing any license plates. It was determined that the truck was unregistered and the driver, Mr. Prince, had an active warrant for his arrest issued by Kingwood Township, for failure to make payments on a DUI charge. Mr. Prince was processed and later released after posting bail. The owner of the truck was charged with having an unregistered vehicle.
   — Donna Cappiello, 56, of Lambertville, was taken into custody and charged with theft on March 6, as a result of an investigation into money allegedly stolen from the Wells Fargo Bank in January. Over $8,000 in cash was reportedly stolen from the vault of the Lambertville branch of Wells Fargo in January. During the investigation of the theft, Ms. Cappiello, a longtime employee of the bank, was identified as the suspect and subsequently taken into custody. She was charged with theft by deception and later released with a pending court date at the Hunterdon County Superior Court.
   New Hope Borough police reported:
   — As of March 14, according to New Hope police, the Parking Department, was to have started using a new Parking Ticket System. It has a new look. “The new tickets will be white in color. They will be made of a tyvex paper and will be printed by a hand-held device. The new-hand held device is called hand gear and is manufactured by United Public Safety, a company based out of Horsham, Pennsylvania.
   ”The new look may confuse people receiving this style of ticket due to their new appearance and the Police Department wants to alert residents and visitors to the new system.
   ”The advantages of the new system are that it will allow up to three pictures to be taken of the violation, the tag, and any other pertinent information. The data will be able to be brought back to the station and downloaded directly into the records management system,” said a department spokesman.
    New Hope police also reported:
   — On Feb. 19 at 8:24 p.m., police took Coutney LeBaron, 29, of Beachwood, New Jersey, into custody for driving under the influence of alcohol, as a result of an incident that occurred in a New Street parking lot.
   — On Feb. 25 at 11:15 p.m., police cited Michele Miller, 44, of Haddonfield, New Jersey, for disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, after she was involved in a disturbance in a New Street parking lot.
   — On Feb. 26 at 1:53 a.m., police took Frank Fico III, 40, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, into custody for driving under the influence of alcohol, after he was observed operating his vehicle in an unlawful manner on West Bridge Street.
   — On Feb. 28 at 11:49 p.m., police cited Vulfrano Quiroz, 31, of New Hope, for disorderly conduct, after he was observed acting in a disorderly manner on South Main Street.
   — On March 1 at 1:44 a.m., a Solebury Township woman reported to police that, earlier that evening, she had been assaulted inside a South Main Street apartment. Police are continuing their investigation.
   — On March 4 at 2:10 a.m., a Flemington man reported to police that he had been assaulted on South Main Street. The victim was reportedly struck several times by a large wrench, and sustained wounds to his head and face. He was transported to the Hunterdon Medical Center for treatment. Police are continuing their investigation. Anyone with information is requested to contact New Hope Police at 215-862-3033.
   Lt. Stephen J. Bartzak, commanding officer, West Amwell Township Police Department, reported:
   — On Feb. 29 at 9:06 a.m., police went to a minor accident in the parking lot of the ESC School on Route 179. Laquinta Horton, 38, of Trenton, was backing into a marked parking slot and backed into the front end of a vehicle owned by Carissa Lauyer, of Bloomsbury. No injuries were reported and no summonses were issued by investigating Patrolman John Casella.
   — On March 2 at approximately 8:58 a.m., police investigated a report of a tractor-trailer blocking the roadway at the intersection of Mt. Airy Harbourton and Rocktown-Lambertville Road. Timothy Eastberg, of Houston, Texas, driving a tractor trailer for Stevens Transportation, of Dallas, Texas, was making a right turn from Mt. Airy Harbourton onto Rocktown-Lambertville roads when his vehicle struck a street sign post and became disabled when the rear wheels of his trailer dropped into a drainage ditch. Rocktown-Lambertville Road was closed for approximately one hour while towing/recovery crews extricated the truck from the ditch. Patrolman Todd Pantuso issued the driver a summons for careless driving.
   — On March 2 at approximately 3:57 p.m., a passenger in a vehicle stopped on Route 179 for an equipment violation was taken into custody on an active warrant out of Newark Municipal Court. Patrolman Pantuso took Reginald Reed, 59, of Flemington, into custody after a computer check revealed he was wanted on a failure to appear on an alleged drug possession case. He also was found to be in possession of under 50 grams of suspected marijuana and narcotic paraphernalia. Mr. Reed was processed, charged with possession of under 50 grams of suspected marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and subsequently released after posting $530 cash bail.
   — On March 3 at approximately 1:37 a.m., Patrolman Jonathan Sellner took Leah Saunders, 24 of Bernardsville, into custody for suspected driving while intoxicated. Ms. Saunders was originally observed disregarding a red traffic signal at the intersection of Routes 179 and 165 and then, while going north, failing to maintain lane control. She was processed, issued summonses for driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, failure to stop at a red traffic signal, failure to maintain lane control and having unclear license plates. She was released into the custody of a friend.
   — On March 4 at 5:22 p.m., police were dispatched with Amwell Valley Fire/Rescue on a reported fuel spill at the Quick Chek on Route 31. It was determined that approximately 5 gallons of fuel were spilled on the pavement as a result of a fuel nozzle falling from the port of a vehicle. Firefighters contained and subsequently cleaned up the fuel spill. Patrolman Jeffrey Jones took the report.
   — On March 4 at 9:10 p.m., police went to the Kiriluk farm on Alexuaken Creek Road to check out a report of a theft of two dirt bikes. It was determined that subjects entered a garage on the property and took two dirt bikes — a 2003 Honda XR 100 and a 2003 SR80. The theft occurred between Feb. 19 and March 4. Anyone with information is requested to contact investigating Patrolman Jones at 609-397-5875, ext. 14.
   — On March 5 at approximately 9:57 a.m., police went to a one-vehicle accident on Linvale-Harbourton Road (Route 579) near Route 31. Allison Gardner, 21, of Dagsboro, Delaware, was driving south, left the roadway for an undetermined reason and hit a drainage ditch/embankment. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed from the scene. Investigating Patrolman Edward Skillman issued Ms. Gardner a summons for careless driving.