BELLEFONTE — A Bellefonte man, who police say was armed and dangerous, has been taken into custody by law enforcement in Marshall, Texas.
Zachary Corey Cooper, 37, was apprehended Thursday, April 17, and is currently being held in the Harrison County Jail awaiting extradition back to Pennsylvania to face charges by Rockview State Police, Altoona Police and Lamar State Police.
Cooper faces a laundry list of felony charges, including criminal mischief, burglary, criminal trespass, criminal attempt, receiving stolen property, conspiracy and theft by unlawful taking.
The search for Cooper began after a string of burglaries in Blair County back in March. According to Altoona Police, there is video footage of an individual driving a white GMC Envoy pulling into the Altoona Laundromat establishment on Tuesday, March 11.
The suspect exited the vehicle and was wearing dark clothing and kept their face covered. According to Altoona police, the suspect in question broke into the establishment and targeted skill machines at the laundromat. The damage done to the skills machines, along with the stolen property, is estimated to be in the thousands.
In the coming weeks after the initial burglary at the Altoona Laundromat, Altoona Police received multiple calls about a string of burglaries at various locations in Blair County which included The Copper Coin, Simington Cleaners, Vapes and Skillz and Rutter’s.
Further investigations by Altoona Police were able to identify Cooper as the main suspect. The white GMC in question was registered to Cooper’s girlfriend, according to police. The same white GMC Envoy featured on the video was found at Cooper’s residence in Bellefonte, where he lived with his girlfriend.
After obtaining a search warrant for Cooper’s residence, Altoona Police, with assistance from the Bellefonte Borough Police, found clothing that was consistent with that seen worn by the suspect on the video footage and tools used in the burglaries. The white GMC Envoy in question was ultimately seized by authorities.
At the time of publication, Cooper was being held by the Harrison County Jail for charges of unlawfully carrying a weapon with a felony conviction. Harrison County Jail declined to comment to The Gazette about the arrest.
