Rowdy Crowd Confronts Cops at Neighborhood Fireworks Display

Police report encountering a chaotic scene Monday night at the intersection of Barjune Road and Edith Lane, where a crowd of people were setting off aerial fireworks.

Responding to a complaint received at 11:09 p.m., the first officers to arrive found the intersection blocked by pedestrians celebrating July 4th and parked cars, with several males using “blow torches” to set off pallets of fireworks rockets.

The officers said the crowd became hostile towards them, shouting obscenities, when they ordered an end to the neighborhood fireworks display. They requested additional patrol units be dispatched to the location.

The officers eventually were able to calm the situation and made only one arrest.

City resident Pierce Butler, 57, of 157 Dry Hill Rd., was issued a summons for possession and use fireworks. An officer's report said Butler's car "was full of fireworks."

Butler was given a court date of July 14.

New York Man May Be Serial Drugstore Thief

Items found in the car of a New York man arrested Saturday afternoon for alleged shoplifting indicated he has stolen merchandise from numerous CVS drugstores in New York and Connecticut.

Police said Robert Gilchrist’s car contained a GPS device programmed
with the addresses of CVS stores and a notebook with store information.

The car also allegedly had bags from CVS and Walgreen stores filled with merchandise, primarily tooth whitening products.

Gilchrist, 45, of Far Rockaway, N.Y., came to the attention of police when they received a call from the CVS store at 327 Main Ave. reporting he had just fled the store after being found shoplifting.

Store management told police Gilchrist had been acting suspiciously and they saw him pull out a gold bag from under his shirt. They
said when Gilchrist realized he was being watched, he dropped the bag and grabbed a plastic baseball bat that he used to bash items in the toy aisle.

Gilchrist then ran out of the store and entered a waiting car that sped off, they said. The license plate number was noted and, based on
the description of the vehicle, an officer stopped the car at the intersection of Main Avenue and Broad Street.

The officer said Gilchrist was alone in the driver’s seat. A witness told police another man in the car jumped out and ran away.

Store employees identified Gilchrist as the man who had been in the store, police said.

The bag Gilchrist dropped in the store contained $1,624 in merchandise, mostly tooth whitening products and the heartburn medication Prilosec, police said.

Gilchrist was charged with two counts of fourth-degree larceny. He was held in lieu of posting $5,000.

Man Accused Of Mistreating His Dog

A Weston man was charged with cruelty to animals Saturday after allegedly leaving his dog in his car parked in the sun while he attended the Scottish Games in Cranbury Park.

Responding to a complaint, an animal control officer was dispatched to the park and reportedly found the dog—a gray cockapoo—in the car with the driver’s side window lowered about two inches.

The officer said he measured the temperature in the car to be 110 degrees. There was no water in the car and the dog was panting heavily, he said.

The car was opened and the dog placed in the officer’s air conditioned van. He took it to the city pound.

Police called the phone number of the car’s owner and left a message saying where the dog was being held.

Genaro Hathaway came to the pound to claim the dog, and he was issued a summons for cruelty to animals. Harthaway, 47, of 13 Waterbury St., reportedly said he didn’t want to leave the dog at home while he was attending the games.

Hathaway was given a court date of July 13.