Township honors detectives in multi‑incident arrest; board approves sale of three aging patrol vehicles

Samuel Coleman, chair of the East Norriton Board of Supervisors, opened the meeting June 23 by recognizing Detective Jared Winer and Officer Darian Zakovic for a multi‑incident investigation that the police described as resolving six criminal cases.

Deputy Chief of Police Thomas Douglas told the board surveillance footage, matching clothing and recovered tools connected a single suspect to repeated vehicle thefts, attempted thefts, criminal mischief and prowling. Douglas said officers stopped and detained an individual on May 26 and recovered a screwdriver, a spackle knife and clothing matching the footage; the person later confessed, Douglas said. “This incident investigation exemplified the effective collaboration and teamwork between the patrol division and the detective division,” he told the board as Winer and Zakovic received a certificate of merit.

Douglas also asked for authorization to sell three patrol vehicles that he said had reached the end of their useful life due to age, high miles and increasing maintenance needs: a 2014 Dodge Charger with roughly 149,000 miles, a 2017 Ford Explorer with roughly 138,000 miles and a 2018 Ram 1500 with about 109,600 miles. He said the department plans to replace the units with hybrid police vehicles to avoid mid‑year gaps in patrol coverage. The board moved, seconded and approved the authorization to sell the three vehicles.

The actions taken were procedural authorizations; no purchase contract for replacement vehicles was approved that night. The meeting record shows the commendation and the vehicle‑sale authorization were approved by voice vote.