In two incidents, victims were driven in pickup to remote area, relieved of valuables
Kennett Square police reported the following suspected criminal activity during the past week and a half:
On Aug. 19, a 75-year-old male in the 500 block of West Cypress Street was approached at 1:25 p.m. by a 5-foot-10 suspect wearing an orange shirt, faded jeans and a baseball cap. Police said the man asked for directions to a relative’s home and persuaded the victim to ride with him. After the victim entered the suspect’s grey Toyota pickup, which contained a female passenger, he was driven to a mushroom farm and robbed, police said.
Investigators are also pursuing a Saturday report from a 55-year-old man who was approached at West Cypress Street and South Mill Road at 2:15 p.m. by a man and woman in a small pickup. The pair asked the man for directions, grabbed him, put him in the truck, drove to a baseball field, and robbed him at knifepoint, police said.
A traffic stop today in the 400 block of Center Street led to drug charges for a Wilmington, De., man, police said. Shawn Orsini, 24, was accused of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia at 1:10 a.m. in the 400 block of Center Street.
Police are also investigating two reported thefts. Sometime in the overnight hours of Aug. 17 and 18, three hanging plants were stolen from a business in the 100 block of East State Street. On Saturday, a bicycle was stolen from the front yard of a home in the 700 block of South Garfield Street, police said.
Two people with pending charges were apprehended in the borough. On Aug. 22, police detained Anthony Flores, 26, of Wayne, who was found sleeping in a parking lot in the 300 block of West Cypress Street at 1:35 a.m. He was released to West Norriton Police. The following day, police took Philip Mustico, 35, of Landenberg, into custody for an outstanding theft warrant from New Castle, De., police said.
Driving-under-the-influence charges were filed against two individuals, police said. On Thursday at 5:50 p.m., police arrested Jose Zavala-Baeza, 29, of Kennett Square, following a traffic stop in the 600 block of West State Street. On Friday, a traffic stop at 8:03 p.m. in the same block resulted in an arrest warrant for Efrain Esquivel-Nicacio, 33, of Avondale, police said.
Police said retail theft charges were filed against Sarah Talamonti-Peyton, 18, of Kennett Square, on Friday at 2:39 a.m. in the 500 block of West Cypress Street.
Several burglaries or attempted burglaries are also being investigated, police said. One break-in occurred sometime between Wednesday and Monday at a residence in the 500 block of Kenview Avenue, police said. Another was reported between 5:40 and 5:45 p.m. on Monday at a business in the 100 block of South Mill Road, police said.
Police said they were called to the scene of an attempted burglary on Saturday in the 800 block of South Mill Road. A man said when he arrived at the residence, a white cargo van was parked in the driveway and a woman was mowing in the backyard. The man entered the home, heard a noise downstairs and was met by a white male claiming to be a maintenance man, who was coming from the basement. The man went downstairs and found that copper pipes had been cut. The male and female left in the van, police said.
A Landenberg man was charged with burglarizing a business in the 400 block of East South Street on Saturday at 3 a.m. Alejandro Hernandez, 22, was remanded to Chester County Prison after failing to post $15,000 cash bail, police said.
Finally, state police from the Avondale barracks responded to a one-vehicle crash on Embreeville Road in Newlin Township on Aug. 20 at 8:52 p.m. Police said Hernan Arroyo, 21, of Avondale, was traveling north when the passenger side of his 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse veered off the road, struck a rock, and came to rest about 15 feet from the point of impact. Police said he was cited for leaving the roadway.
