Click the headline above for a news brief from The Patriot-News about burglaries this week in the Pennswood apartment complex.

A Pennsylvania man who goes by Captain Janks, a personality on the “Howard Stern Show,” turned himself in Wednesday to New Jersey State Police at Perryville on a theft charge. Hey Janks- I’ll raise a toast to your stupidity tonight.

Important meeting tonight ... The Lower Paxton Twp. Zoning Hearing Board will review Triple Crown Corporation's request for a special exemption to operate a car wash at the former gas station on N. Mountain Road next to the First National Bank of Marysville branch (pictured), 7 pm at the Municipal Center. Township supervisors somewhat reluctantly changed local land-use rules earlier this year to allow a car wash at this location if the developer can jump through a few regulatory hoops. If the proposed facility were OK'd by the zoning board, Triple Crown still would need to get a plan approved by the supervisors. Supervisors Bill Seeds and Bill Hornung were skeptical that a car wash could be crammed into the half-acre lot. Lower Paxton news ... Police are trying to track down crooks who ripped off residents at Pennswood Apartment Complex. ... LP Republicans will hold a meet-and-greet and nomination petition-signing event for local candidates Saturday morning at St. Thomas Roasters, 10 am–noon., and Democratic county judicial candidate Lori Serratelli will be gathering petition signatures Sunday at the coffee house, 5–6:30 pm. Life with B² ... Thanks go out today to the residents association at Blue Meadows Farm for plugging the Gazette in their January newsletter. ... St. Thomas Roasters coffee house is a satellite office for the Gazette. Geez, I sure hope Java Geof doesn't see this AP video report. ... Need a B² fix between blog posts? Gazette junkies should seriously consider following me on Twitter. ... I'll be a face in the crowd Friday night at Giant Center when the CD Lady Rams compete for the District 3 Quad-A championship against Wilson, a Berks County school. Tip off is slated for 8:30 pm. Hope to see you there. Go Rams! Contests ... The give-away announced Monday on this post ended with no winner. The St. Thomas Roasters gift certificate will be returned to the prize bin. ... I still have $40 of Bon Ton coupons to give away for the department store's Community Day this Saturday, and I'll try to deliver coupons to last-minute winners. To win you have to send some friendly spam to at least three people in your address book. According to one reader, no one should fear spamming friends to help get more eyes on the Gazette.  

Today's Patriot-News has background information on the murder suspect who fled from police early Thursday near Paxtonia Elementary. ____ Related post: LP police incident gets multistate attention

A court hearing on the alleged child sex case that caused a stir in Linglestown earlier this summer has been delayed. Jimmy Melton, 45, of Nassau Road, was scheduled to appear before Lingelstown Magisterial District Judge William C. Wenner last Tuesday on charges of unlawful contact with a minor, indecent exposure and corruption of minors, but the preliminary hearing was rescheduled to Nov. 25 at 10 am. Developing story …

Gazette reader Gwen Robbins submitted the following question related to "fake cop" incidents reported in the Harrisburg region:

Do the police have any advice for how young girls (or anyone) should react when being pulled over if there is a doubt about the identity of the person pulling them over? Should they put on hazard lights and go to a lighted area? Call 911 to confirm that it is the police pulling them over?

I posed the question to a Pennsylvania State Police spokeswoman who gave me the following tips: The key thing to remember is to ask the officer some common-sense questions if you suspect that you might be dealing with a fake cop. Always, always ask the officer for identification, especially if the he or she is in plain clothes. If you are dealing with a city or borough police officer, ask for the police department’s name and telephone number. If you are dealing with a “real” officer, they will quickly put you in your place when you start asking these questions. If the officer is unable to produce identification or has trouble answering basic questions, the best thing to do is end the conversation and drive away. In the case that recently happened in part in Lower Paxton Twp., the teen became suspicious when she was asked about her marital status. She only opened her window an inch and sent a text message to her mom before driving away. Police praised the teen for wisely handling the situation. Also, it’s good to know that state troopers are required to wear their hat when approaching citizens, while not all local police departments have a hat requirement. ____ BB AnswerLine is a free service provided by Linglestown Gazette and its subsidiary Linglestown TV. CLICK HERE to submit a question via e-mail – please put “BB AnswerLine” in subject line.

The woman pictured in this post is suspected of being part of a two-person team that used a bump-and-grab technique to steal wallets from two elderly women last month at a grocery store on Union Deposit Road. Police obtained bank surveillance video that showed the suspect using a victim’s credit card to obtain a cash advance of several thousand dollars. If you recognize the woman, contact Lower Paxton police at (717) 657-5656, and ask for Detective Mark Brumaghim. ____ Click on the photo to view a larger version. More from The Patriot-News.