Police responded to an early morning call April 3 from a child who was barricaded in a bedroom while a man went berserk in the home, according to a police report.
The report says police received the first call from a residence on West Delaware Parkway at about 4 a.m. April 3 reporting that an ex-boyfriend had come to the home and had threatened to drink bleach to kill himself. When police arrived on the scene, the man had left.
A second call came in about an hour later, in which a woman and a child at the residence had locked themselves in a bedroom while a man “was violently destroying articles inside their home,” according to a statement from Lower Township police issued April 7. A young girl was on the phone, relaying information from the woman with her. The girl kept speaking to the police dispatcher until police arrived on the scene, where they say they found and arrested Vernon Smith, 31, of Sumtner Street in Whitesboro.
Smith was charged with burglary and criminal mischief, and sent to county jail with bail set at $25,000.
Ptl. Robert Hartman, Ptl. Patrick Greene, Ptl. Edward Edwards, Det. 1st Class Mel Hedum, and Cpl. Kevin Boyle investigated, according to police.