Crime Log - Franklin Township

FRANKLIN TWP. — Four people have been charged with burglaries committed at Crown Pipe Line on Delsea Drive here. The charges came after a three-month investigation.

At about 1:20 a.m. Jan. 8, Cpl. James Reilly and Ptl. Matthew DeCesari spotted two masked men inside the fenced yard at Crown, police said. The pair had cut a hole in the fence to get in.

The two men had allegedly been entering vehicles and stealing spools of copper wire, said police.

The men fled on foot from the police officers, but, after a brief chase, one man, Jesse Evey, 19, of Pittsgrove, was caught on railroad tracks running behind the business, police said.

The second man managed to get away.

Evey was charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief, possession of burglary tools, conspiracy, resisting arrest and aggravated assault on a police officer. He was committed to the Gloucester County Jail in Woodbury in default of $50,000 full cash bail, police said.

Investigators determined that the man who eluded them was Eugene Schoultz, 18, of Elk Township. He was arrested Jan. 9 on Lake Road in Vineland. He was charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief, possession of burglary tools and resisting arrest and was lodged in the county jail in lieu of $40,000 full cash bail, said police.

Kevin Kendig, of Lake Road in Vineland, was charged with three counts of burglary and theft in connection with burglaries at Crown between November and January, said police. He was served with a complaint summons and released.

A fourth person, not identified by police, was also charged in connection with the burglaries.