Man calls police for help getting into apartment

A man tried to get into an apartment where his mother lives about 2:05 a.m. Feb. 9 in the 400 block of Penn Avenue in West Reading, but he had no keys. So, he called the police for help. He said his mother didn't give him keys to the place. When asked for proof he actually lived there, the man had nothing. Officers told him he'd have to call his mother and ask her permission to let him in.

West Reading puts police blotter online

You want to know how I get material for this blog? From the police departments at West Reading and Wyomissing. Now you can find out about crime in West Reading straight from the police themselves. As of Tuesday they've put their daily activity report online.

You can read it here. Wyomissing has put their reports online for several years. You can find those here.

Of course, I hope you will continue (or start, if the case may be) visiting Borough Blue regularly, where you can always find the news of the criminal, the not-quite-criminal and the just plain weird in West Reading and Wyomissing.

West Reading to take part in National Night Out

West Reading’s police department will host the borough’s celebration of National Night Out, an evening of crime prevention and activities for families and neighbors. The free festivities take place from 5 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday night at the borough pool at Museum Road and Parkside Drive.

The Keystone Blood Mobile will be there, as will face painters, a Moonbounce, a DJ and a helicopter.

For more information, or to schedule a block party in your neighborhood, call the police department at 610-373-0111.

Citizen's Police Academy coming soon to West Reading and Wyomissing

Want to learn more about your local police department? Sign up for the Citizen's Police Academy run by the police departments of West Reading, Wyomissing and Spring Township.

Find out more here.

Man gets on wrong side of ex-girlfriend, her family and police

A woman called West Reading police about 8:17 p.m. April 19 after getting harassing phone calls from her ex-boyfriend. She told police that he had also called her mother’s home, telling mom he was a police officer looking for her daughter.

Officers told the ex-boyfriend to stop calling the woman and her family. They didn’t let him slide on the phone call where he pretended to be a cop. He now faces criminal charges for that stunt.

When mothers don’t like the men in their daughters’ lives, sometimes police get involved

A woman called West Reading police about 11:30 a.m. March 25 to confirm rumors she’d heard about a man who lives in the borough with her daughter and grandson. She told police she thought he was wanted and an illegal immigrant, fearing the the man and another man they lived with were not “good people.” Police checked the man’s background but found no open warrants and suggested she call Immigration and Customs Enforcement to find out his immigration status.

Later that day, a man spoke to police after his girlfriend’s mother called him a racist name and threatened to take her daughter’s car unless they stop dating. He told police in case the situation gets worse with the girlfriend’s mother.

Pair face charges after showing up unwanted at West Reading restaurant

West Reading police arrested two men on trespassing and other charges about 2:58 a.m. Feb. 20 at the West Reading Diner, in the 400 block of Penn Avenue in the borough. One of the men, a 44-year-old Reading resident, was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct and one count each of defiant trespass and public drunkenness. He was jailed in lieu of $5,000 bail.

The second man, a 33-year-old Temple, Pa., resident, was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct and one count each of defiant trespass, marijuana possession and public drunkenness. He was released after posting 5 percent of $5,000 bail.

West Reading business broken into

A witness called police about 5:26 a.m. Feb. 21 after seeing a broken window in the back of a business in the 400 block of Penn Avenue in West Reading. Borough police arrived but did not indicate if anything was stolen.

Deer carcasses found in Wyomissing park

The Reading Eagle has the story by Steven Henshaw in today's paper: 

"The Pennsylvania Game Commission is investigating the deaths of three deer, at least two from gunshots, after the carcasses were found over the weekend on Wyomissing parkland near a popular recreation trail, officials said Monday," Henshaw writes.

You can read the full article here.

Shoplifting suspect refuses to cooperate

Store security guards stopped a man for shoplifting $24 worth of merchandise about 3:04 p.m. Feb. 21 at VF Outlet in the 800 block of Hill Avenue in Wyomissing. The suspect, who was from out of state, refused to sign any paperwork or pay restitution for the items he stole. Borough police arrested him and issued a citation for retail theft.

Man punches bouncer after being asked to leave Wyomissing bar

Wyomissing police were called about 1:33 a.m. Feb. 21 to The Works, in the 1100 block of Bern Road in the borough, after a man punched a bouncer in the face. The bouncer had told the would-be customer to leave for violating the bar’s dress code. He was cited for disorderly conduct.

Several businesses broken into in Wyomissing

• About 10:25 a.m. Feb. 21, Wyomissing police received a report of a burglary that had happened overnight at a business in the 1300 block of Penn Avenue. The burglar or burglars broke a side window to get in. Police did not indicate what, if anything, was stolen.
• A Wyomissing police officer on patrol discovered a shattered window in the front door of a business about 11:33 p.m. Feb. 21 in the 1100 block of Penn Avenue in the borough. Though someone apparently entered the building, the owner said nothing appeared to be missing.
• A short time later, a burglar or burglars were successful a few doors away. About 12:09 a.m. Feb. 22, an officer spotted broken glass by the rear door of a business also in the 1100 block of Penn Avenue. Cash was stolen but whoever broke in left behind “a fair amount of blood” as a result of breaking the window.

Woman passed out in car faces charges

A Wyomissing resident called police about 4:21 a.m. Feb. 20 to report a car that was stopped but running at the intersection of Larchwood and Cedarwood roads in the borough. Police found a woman passed out in the car and had to break the rear window to get her out. Unspecified drug items were visible to the officers. They took her to St. Joseph Medical Center for a blood test.

Man charged with giving alcohol to a minor

A Wyomissing police officer was on patrol about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 12 in a parking lot in the 1100 block of Woodland Road in the borough. He saw two men exchange cash and one of them bought a bottle of alcohol for the second man, who, it turns out was only 19. The 21-year-old purchaser was charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor.

Security guards spot woman drinking in vehicle

Store security at the Sears in the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing noticed a “severely intoxicated” woman in the store about 5:34 p.m. Feb. 9. They watched her stumble around for a bit before she left and got into a vehicle then started drinking what appeared to be vodka. She drove around the mall parking lot before getting stopped by mall security. When borough police arrived the driver was unable to perform any field sobriety tests. She was arrested and charged Feb. 14 with drunken driving.

Man suspects daughter in theft of electronics

A Wyomissing resident came home for lunch shortly after noon Feb. 12 and discovered multiple televisions and a computer had been stolen from his house in the first block of Trebor Place. He told borough police he suspects his daughter is involved in the burglary.

Fourth person charged in credit card fraud scheme

In early January a woman reported her credit card information had been used to make more than $1,700 in purchases at Big Lots on Dec. 22, the same day she had used her card at a restaurant. A Wyomissing police investigation led to the arrests of four people, including a 22-year-old Shillington woman who was charged Feb. 17.

Wyomissing police Chief Jeffery Biehl said all four suspects knew each other. The main suspect was a waitress who initially got the victim’s credit card information. She then passed it on to the other suspects, all of whom knew each other, Biehl said. While the initial large purchases made Dec. 22 initially got the attention of police, Biehl said, most of the other transactions were for smaller purchases of $15 to $20.

He added that all of the fraudulent purchases, which involved six other victims, took place over the course of a few days.

The people who have been charged are:

• An 18-year-old Reading woman: 16 counts, access device fraud; eight counts, criminal conspiracy; charged Jan. 29. She was released pending a preliminary hearing next month.
• A 19-year-old Reading woman: two counts each, access device fraud and criminal conspiracy; one count, theft by deception; charged Jan. 14. She was released Jan. 15 on $10,000 bail and waived her preliminary hearing Jan. 25.
• A 21-year-old Shillington woman: one count each, access device fraud and criminal conspiracy; charged Jan. 28. She was released pending a preliminary hearing next month.
• A 22-year-old Shillington woman; nine counts, access device fraud; nine counts, criminal conspiracy to commit access device fraud; charged Feb. 17. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for March.

Parking-space dispute brings in police

A Wyomissing resident irked his neighbors about 9:37 a.m. Feb. 3 because he moved his car from his driveway to a space in front of his neighbor’s house to clean off the snow from his car. The man told police he does that because he’s upset at the way his other neighbors park their cars (legally, the officer noted in the report) that affects how he gets out of his driveway. The officer told both that they “need to learn how to get (along) in a more adult way.

Two people charged with shoplifting from VF Outlet

Two Reading residents, a 41-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman, were charged Feb. 13 with retail theft and receiving stolen property charges that stemmed from a Jan. 6 incident at VF Outlet, in the 800 block of Hill Avenue in Wyomissing. Store security stopped the two theft suspects who reportedly had taken $156.83 in merchandise.

Snow thrower cited after argument with West Reading police officer

A man tossing snow into the street about 12:35 p.m. Feb. 7 in the 500 block of Sycamore Road in West Reading got the attention of a passing borough police car. The officer told the man what he was doing is illegal. The shoveler started to argue but the officer was content to let him off with a warning. As the police car pulled away the man “had several choice words” for the officer, who then stopped and returned to talk.

The man finally cleaned up the snow he tossed into the street and the officer told him to expect a citation in the mail.