Jeffrey Alderton
Cumberland Times-News
December 20, 2007 11:55 am
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ROMNEY - Two young Hampshire County men and a 16-year-old boy have been arrested after they allegedly hurled chunks of concrete at moving vehicles late Friday and early Saturday. At least one motorist was injured when her windshield was smashed.
Shane M. Cooper, 18, of Capon Bridge, and Justin M. Brannon, 18, of Highview, were apprehended in a traffic stop late Monday on state Route 259 in the Highview area by Hampshire County sheriff's deputies and West Virginia state troopers. Both men were charged with more than 30 felony counts of unlawful assault, destruction of property and conspiracy.
Cooper remained jailed Wednesday at the Potomac Highlands Regional Jail on $45,000 bond. Brannon was granted pre-trial release after posting bond of $45,000. No trial date has been set for either defendant, according to the Hampshire County Magistrate's Court.
A 16-year-old Hampshire County youth also was arrested in connection with the vandalism and destruction spree that occurred at Highview and on Routes 259 and 29, in addition to the Pleasantville, Cooper Mountain and Capon Bridge areas, according to Hampshire County Sheriff Nathan Sions.
The youth now faces charges in juvenile court after Sions referred the matter to juvenile authorities. The youth was subsequently released to the custody of his family.
The life-threatening acts of destruction apparently began at about 11:30 p.m., on Dec. 14 when two chunks of concrete were hurled through a front picture window of a Highview area residence.
While deputies investigated that incident, the Hampshire County 911 Center notified deputies that a motorist on Route 259 had reported that occupants of a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction had just thrown a piece of concrete at the victim's vehicle.
As deputies responded to that complaint, additional calls streamed into the 911 center, reporting that "occupants of a vehicle" were hurling chunks of concrete at moving vehicles. The calls continued until 4:30 a.m. Saturday.
Deputies began interviewing victims, collecting crucial investigative details that included descriptions of the suspect vehicle. One victim was even able to provide the license plate number of the suspect vehicle.
Sions said the number and severity of complaints late Friday and early Saturday prompted him to call off-duty deputies in to work.
As investigators collaborated, no similar destruction of property complaints were received by police on Sunday as winter weather gripped the area with a mixture of freezing rain, sleet and snow.
By Monday, police began closing in on the suspects, having positively identified the suspect vehicle with the license plate information that had been provided by an alert citizen.
Late Monday, police located the vehicle traveling Route 259 in the Highview area where the vandalism spree had occurred a couple days earlier. Cooper, the driver, and Brannon were arrested without incident.
Police seized the vehicle, impounding it for processing of evidence. Investigators reportedly found pieces of concrete and rock inside the vehicle that has been returned to the owner.
The victim that required medical treatment reportedly suffered a laceration to one eye when glass from her smashed windshield flew into her eyes. She was taken to the Winchester Medical Center in Winchester, Va.
Sions said there were 14 moving vehicles that were struck with rocks or chunks of concrete. In addition, there were two separate reports of destruction to residences and another resident reported his lawn ornaments were stolen.
Cooper and Brannon also allegedly hurled the rock and concrete pieces at a moving vehicle in Hardy County and in Frederick County, Va. Charges are pending in those jurisdictions, Sions said.
Additional charges against Cooper and Brannon are pending in Hampshire County in connection with several burglaries and destruction in the Highview, Capon Bridge and Yellow Springs area. Stolen property from those crimes reportedly was found in the suspect vehicle at the time of the arrests.
Sions was happy to report the arrests.
"We're very fortunate. Anytime you are driving down the road at 55 miles per hour and a rock comes through your window, it could have really caused serious injury or even loss of life," he said.
"We really appreciate our citizens assisting in this case. It shows the value of citizens and law enforcement working together," said Sions. "We need all the assistance we can get from citizens when it comes to cases like this."
Contact Jeffrey Alderton at jlalderton@times-news.com.
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