Crime report

Even state troopers can be crime victims.
Trooper Dwayne Winchester of the Avondale barracks stopped by the West Marlborough Township supervisors' meeting on June 5 to report on state police activity in the township so far in 2012. In response to a question about burglaries, he mentioned that his own house, on Route 82 in East Marlborough, was broken into last August.
The officer said he came home from his work shift to find a woman running out the back door of his house and arrested her on the spot. Her boyfriend had been sitting in his car in a neighbor's driveway acting as lookout and phoned her when the officer arrived home, prompting her to try to flee.
He said he was relieved to find that his house had been targeted randomly; the burglar was a heroin addict looking for valuables to steal and sell, not someone he had previously arrested who was out for revenge. In fact, he said, he imagined the burglar was not at all happy to see his police uniforms hanging up in the house.
He said the presence of his dog did not deter the burglar.
The trooper said the state police were called out to 92 incidents in the township so far this year, including 3 house burglaries, 18 crashes (4 of them DUI-related), 9 criminal investigations and 4 DUIs.
"Pretty quiet," he summarized.
He advised residents to call the police if they are planning to leave for an extended period so the police can keep an eye on the house. Also, he advised residents to report anything suspicious and "look out for each other."