MARTINSBURG JOURNAL (W Virginia) 14 January 11 Footprints lead police straight to suspects in snake robbery (Edward Marshall)
Martinsburg: Two burglary suspects were arrested Thursday after their footprints in the snow led police straight to their doorstep, where officers found the victim's stolen items, including a pet snake.
Both 21-year-old Donald McDaniel Jr., of Leetown Road, Kearneysville, and 18-year-old Brandon McDaniel, of Margaret's Way, Martinsburg, were arrested Thursday morning and later arraigned on charges of felony burglary and misdemeanor receiving/transferring stolen property.
The stolen reptile and other property pilfered from the victim were recovered.
According to court records, Troopers J.A. Ware and B.D. French of the West Virginia State Police responded at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday to a residence on Sperry Avenue in Berkeley County for a report of breaking and entering.
They met with the victim, who told officers he returned home that evening and found someone had broken into his residence, stealing a number of items. He said a neighbor told him she had overheard a man say that when he got a chance he was going to steal the victim's pet snake, along with other property.
While obtaining statements from the victim and his neighbor, police saw Donald McDaniel Jr. and Brandon McDaniel near the scene, along with a third man.
All three said the person the victim's neighbor had mentioned had a problem with stealing, police reports show.
After obtaining statements from the men, French and Ware discovered footprints in the snow that led away from the victim's porch, where the burglars entered via a back door. The officers followed the footprints past several mobile homes.
While following the trail, they stopped to talk to three residents in the area who stated that they saw three people walking past their house with bags and DVDs in their hands. Two of three of the descriptions provided by witnesses matched Donald McDaniel Jr. and Brandon McDaniel, records show.
Police continued to follow the footprints, which led them to a residence on Margaret's Way. When they approached the residence, they found Donald McDaniel on the front porch and Brandon McDaniel inside. Ware asked to see the bottom of the suspects' shoes, which matched the patterns of the footprints leading away from the victim's home.
Ware spoke with the owner of the residence, who gave officers verbal permission to search the premises for any stolen items. French and Ware found the stolen snake, two Walmart bags full of DVDs and videogames, as well as a gym bag containing stolen videogame systems, games, movies, knives and a stolen .22-caliber rifle.
Brandon McDaniel and Donald McDaniel Jr. were arrested early Thursday morning, processed and taken to Eastern Regional Jail to await arraignment.
As of Thursday evening, both men were being held at the jail on a $35,000 bail. If convicted, they face a maximum of one to 10 years in prison on the burglary charges and up to a year in jail or fines on the charges of receiving/transferring stolen property.
Footprints lead police straight to suspects in snake robbery