Crime & Safety

Tip for the Criminal Element: If You Have to Run from Police, Put on Shoes

But we still don't suggest stealing them.

Police are used to talking about a lot of things—public safety hazards, drug-dealing, drunken driving, unruly behaviour and so on.

You know what they don't spend a lot of time talking about? Shoes.

Yet Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Charles Edgar had to make an exception this week.

Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

First, he told Patch about an incident in which a shoplifting suspect allegedly ran from police as he left Quaker Bridge Mall with a bunch of clothing from Victoria's Secret. At some point during the chase, —which perhaps made him easier to catch just a few minutes later.

He also told us about an alleged shoplifter at the mall's , who police say was swapping out his own old shoes for new ones. The man got away with it once, police say, leaving his old shoes in a shoebox after trying on the new pair. But he was caught, er, red-footed, when he returned to the same store, according to police.

Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Each Monday, Patch takes a peek at some of the more surprising, shocking, stunning and occasionally silly police-related incidents reported throughout New Jersey for "OMGs from NJ PDs." Some of the other reports:

You Don't Tug on Superman's Cape, You Don't Kick in the Cop Car Window: One Caldwell College student was . Officers say that when they arrived on a report the student had pot in his room, things got a little crazy. The student allegedly became unruly, injured an officer's thumb while resisting arrest, banged his head four or five times on the officers' car's trunk and kicked out the passenger-side rear window. Sounds like the guy needed to mellow out. 

You Shouldn't Lie to Your Mother ... Or Set Her Car on Fire: A Blackwood man's mother apparently thought her car had been stolen from Florida. But police say the car : The Blackwood man had allegedly set it on fire near his apartment; it was his way of dealing with its many mechanical issues, police said. The man was charged with arson. No word on whether he was sent to his room without supper.

Did I Steal the Right Thing? Westfield police say a thief apparently stole a set of forklift keys from a property on First Street in town—. Now, we're not trying to give the criminal element tips here, but we think the forklift might be worth more than the keys.

At Least He'll Go Home with a Story: Washington Township police say they found an Illinois man whose sister said he'd gone missing after the two of them left a bar—and he'd been on something of a mini-adventure with a van owned by radio station WRNJ. Police say the man apparently was lost and disoriented, located an unlocked van in the parking lot of the radio station, and fell asleep in it. When he woke up, he found the keys, and started driving on Route 46, where he found his family members, police said. The van was taken back to the radio station; the man was taken to police headquarters, where he was charged with the alleged theft.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.