By Owen Boss
Staff Writer
NORTHAMPTON - An Easthampton man told police he was just looking for a place to sleep after he was arrested in connection with a series of break-ins at two Easthampton businesses, during which he allegedly broke into a soda machine and took a company's truck out for a joyride before smashing it into one of the buildings, according to court records.
Edward J. Cooper, 34, of 44 Briggs St., pleaded innocent Wednesday in Northampton District Court to charges of larceny from a building, two counts of breaking and entering a building during the nighttime for a felony, two counts of malicious destruction of property valued above $250 and two counts of using a motor vehicle without the owner's authority.
Over the past month, local police said they have been investigating four separate overnight break-ins that occurred at the DOS Concrete Services Inc. building on Wemelco Way and the Grace building, which is located next door. After an investigation into the break-ins led to Cooper's arrest, he reportedly admitted to police that he had broken into both buildings on six different occasions over a two month period because he needed a place to sleep, according to a police report contained in the court file.
While inside the Grace building on July 29 and July 30, Cooper reportedly told police he broke into a soda machine and stole money and sodas, causing more than $300 in damage, according to court documents. On those same nights, Cooper reportedly took the Ford Explorer found inside the DOS Concrete Services building out for a joy ride, and on July 30, smashed it into an office wall inside the building when he returned, doing thousands of dollars in damage to the interior office area.
Judge W. Michael Goggins released Cooper on his own recognizance and he is scheduled to return for a pretrial hearing on Dec. 14.
Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com
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