Police arrested two suspects after several off-campus residences where Cortland students live were burglarized over winter break, police said. At least one student said they were home at the time of the break-in.
Footprints in the snow led the Cortland Police from a burglary to the Econo Lodge on Church Street on Dec. 23, police said. There, they arrested Darrin Hayes, 34, and Jamie Hartwick, 26.
In the days leading up to Christmas, several off-campus student residences around Groton Avenue, Lincoln Avenue, and Monroe Heights were burglarized, said police. Out of the 10 places victimized, Cortland students lived in eight of them.
When police got the statement of one student living around Monroe Heights, whose residence was among the 10 affected, they were called to a second burglary in progress, a few houses over.
“The craziest part of this entire thing was watching the officers respond to another burglary less than half an hour after they responded to mine,” said one student living near Lincoln Ave. who asked for their name to be withheld. “And the house being burglarized was only a few houses down the street from me.”
Despite it being winter break for SUNY Cortland, some students happened to still be in Cortland and were home while the burglaries occurred through town.
“This can be a particularly harrowing situation for officers, as it means there was a real-time danger to the occupants,” said Detective Lt. David Edwards. “Lucky for us that the suspect had fled the residences prior to our arrival each time.”
The lead investigators for these incidents were Detective Sgt. Sean Byrnes and Detective Sgt. Patrick O’Donnell.Their investigation process included analyzing video footage showing the suspects’ movements and then tracking their footprints in the snow, police said. Their tread pattern helped police identify what kind of shoes the burglar was wearing, as well as where they were headed, police said.
Police said they arrested the suspects and found stolen property in their room. One suspect was also wearing shoes with the same tread pattern found in the snow at the crime scene, police said.
Detective Edwards said the department worked tirelessly to apprehend both suspects, emphasizing that this was very much a team effort for everyone working at the Cortland City Police Department.
“The process was exhausting, but also very methodical and determined,” said Detective Lieutenant Edwards. “The final apprehension after the foot pursuit, and the discovery of critical evidence, was a sense of relief for the officer involved.”
Hayes was charged with six counts of second-degree burglary, third-degree burglary, three counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, resisting arrest, and other charges. Hayes had existing charges of vehicle larceny going back to November, police said. Hartwick was charged with second-degree criminal impersonation, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.