Delaware State Police reported Friday, March 5 that they had arrested three males, ages 21, 18, and 16, in dozens of shed and vehicle break-ins in the Harrington and Camden areas from Oct. 2009 to Feb. of this year.
The suspects charged in the case were:
• Patrick L. Countryman, 21, of Harrington,
• Sean N. Cornwell, 18, of Harrington, and
• Benjamin Beyer, 16, of Milford.
State Police Troop 3 detectives have charged each of the suspects with more than 150 criminal charges consisting of third-degree burglary, theft, and criminal mischief. The arrests stem from an ongoing investigation of shed and vehicle break-ins in the Harrington and Camden areas over the past five months.
The suspects used various methods to gain entry into the sheds and vehicles. Once inside the suspects typically stole power tools, loose change, GPS systems, DVDs, sunglasses, and I-Pods.
Troop 3 detectives developed the three as suspects through continued investigation and were able to link them to approximately 40 criminal cases.
Patrick L. Countryman was arrested on 166 criminal charges and is being held at the James T. Vaughn Correction Center in lieu of $180,000 secured bail.
Sean N. Cornwell was also arrested on 166 criminal charges and is also being held at Sussex Correction Institute in lieu of $28,000 secured bail.
Benjamin Beyer was arrested 144 charges and is being held in state custody at the William Marion Stevenson House Detention Center because of past criminal charges.
