Police Log April 10: Police chase; sheriff’s officers ripped off

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on April 10, 2014

• Chester residents John Lugo Jr., 25, and Juan Manuel Cruz Jr., 28, are accused of stealing a truck in Concord Township, and then driving around Delaware County before state police caught them in Upper Chichester. The 10-hour escapade happened on April 3 and the arrests may solve numerous thefts from vehicle incidents. According to police, a Dodge Ram 1500 was reported stolen from the parking lot of the Wyndham Hotel on Route 1 at 10:40 a.m. An hour later, police found, in the same parking lot, a white Dodge Caravan that had been reported stolen in Delaware. Both vehicles were believed to be involved in a string of thefts. Police said people had been stealing Dodge and Chrysler minivans and using them as transportation while committing thefts from other vehicles. At about 8:30 p.m. on April 3, a trooper spotted the Dodge Ram while responding to a report of a theft from vehicle in Bethel Township. Another trooper followed the Ram and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver — identified as Lugo — failed to stop. The Ram was driven eastbound on Route 322 into Upper Chichester where another trooper deployed a spike strip, puncturing the front tires. The two suspects then fled on foot, but were captured with the help of Pennsylvania State Police trooper and officers from Upper Chichester Township. Lugo and Cruz face multiple charges.

• Sheriff’s officers from Butler County were among the victims whose vehicles were broken into at the Hampton Inn on State Farm Drive. A Pennsylvania State Police report said unknown suspects smashed the windows of four vehicles some time between 11 p.m. on April 1 and 6:30 p.m. on April 2. Items were stolen, the report said, but nothing specific was mentioned. Other victims are from Saegertown, Pa., Ashland, Ky. and Waterford, N.Y.

• Police said Thomas John Potts, of West Chester, was found to be under the influence when troopers came upon his white Porsche Cayenne stopped on the shoulder of Route 1 at Harvey Road in Chadds Ford Township. The incident happened April 3 at 12:10 a.m.

• Walgreens at 190 Wilmington-West Chester Pike was ripped off on April 2. Police said a suspect, identified only as a black female, took several items without paying.