By TOM TIGANI
Sunday Times Newspapers
TRENTON — Three teens were arrested early Dec. 29 in connection with a series of vehicle break-ins after they were spotted by a vigilant resident.
Police responded at 6:55 a.m. to a call in the 1600 block of Camelot on a possible larceny from a vehicle in progress. Upon arrival the suspect vehicle, a white sport utility vehicle with a loud exhaust, was gone.
A witness saw the three near a silver 1999 Chevrolet parked in the 1600 block of Camelot, where the owner found the owner’s manual, and automated teller machine and bank deposit tickets had been removed. When the witness yelled, the three took off running back to the SUV and left southbound on Camelot toward Harrison.
Police said that minutes earlier, the three also had entered a Plymouth Neon in the same block and removed a black leather portfolio with an owner’s manual, registration and proof of insurance before leaving the door to the car open.
An officer on patrol shortly after the witness called saw the SUV on Truwood and Hawthorn and made a traffic stop and called for backup. Officers found the portfolio and paperwork, along with some of the property from other reported thefts in the area early that morning.
Aaron Michael Lesczcynski, 19, of Trenton; Joseph Alexander Bell, 19, of Brownstown Township; and Paul Edward Rishell, 17, of Trenton were arraigned in 33rd District Court on charges of larceny from vehicles. Smith said all three admitted to some being intoxicated in some way, but declined to say why they were breaking into vehicles.
Detective Lt. Robert Smith said 11 different complaints were tied into the final report, and that officers found additional items in the SUV that didn’t belong to the the three teens but have not yet been reported stolen.
Other reported thefts and incidents that day included:
• An in-dash stereo reported missing from a 2008 Mercury Milan in the 1600 block of Camelot.
• A portable navigation system and $25 cash from a 2000 Chevrolet van and damage to a dashboard on a 1985 Chevrolet S-10, along with $100 cash stolen from a 1994 Jeep. All three vehicles were parked at a residence in the 2400 block of Dickinson. The navigation system was recovered in a nearby alley.
• A pair of binoculars stolen from a 2007 Ford Ranger in the 2400 block of Dickinson, along with a vehicle manual containing insurance and registration paperwork. The truck was left unlocked.
• A $1,300 electronic meter, a tool bag concaining $400 worth of miscellaneous tools and a $260 hand drill were taken from a 2007 Ford Ranger used by a cable TV installer. The items were recovered and returned.
• A black plastic briefcase containing architecture/school supplies was taken from a 2000 Pontiac parked on the street in the 2500 block of Superior that had been left unlocked. It was recovered after the arrest.
• A diagnostic scan tool with case valued at $1,200, a power test probe with case valued at $150 and a volt meter valued at $100 all were taken from a 1992 Chevrolet Blazer in 337 block of George and recovered in the arrest. The driver’s door had been left open.
• An in-dash stereo and a home stereo component with speaker and a car phone charger all were taken from a 1996 Ford pickup at another residence in the 2400 block of Dickinson.
Smith said Thursday that 10 victims’ names so far have appeared on investigators reports and more have come forward. He cited the witness’s call as key to catching the three teens.
“It’s one of those things where we make the arrests, but it’s the people who see them doing it that help us to do it,” he said.
Smith advised anyone whose vehicle was broken into before Dec. 29 and is missing property to call the Detective Bureau at (734) 676-3821.