Charges Mount for Suspected Burglar

is being charged in five additional burglaries of vacant Lexington homes.

Lexington County Sheriff James Metts said detectives on Monday served arrest warrants on three counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of third-degree burglary on Craig Cory Cooper, 42, of 104 Lipscomb Lane, Columbia. Cooper was served with the arrest warrants at the Lexington County Detention Center, where Cooper remains behind bars.

detectives allege that the man broke into a total of five vacant homes that were for sale on London Way near Lexington, Millwright Drive near Lexington, Montauk Drive near Lexington, and Waterstone Drive near Lexington. The man allegedly broke into the homes between Feb. 13 and March 5 with the intent to steal ovens and microwave ovens from the residences, detectives said.

Detectives previously arrested Cooper on two counts of second-degree burglary in connection with break-ins that occurred at one vacant home that was for sale on Castlefield Drive near Lexington and a second vacant home for sale on Greenstone Way near Irmo, Metts said. Cooper allegedly broke into the two homes on March 1 with the intent to steal ovens from the residences.

On Monday, detectives served Cooper with an arrest warrant that alleges that Cooper broke into a home on Montauk Drive between Feb. 13 and Feb. 15 and stole one GE stainless steel stove worth about $500, Metts said. 

An arrest warrant also alleges that Cooper broke into a home on London Way between Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 and stole one GE oven worth about $600. In addition, an arrest warrant alleges that Cooper broke into a home on Millwright Drive between Feb. 25 and March 5 and stole a GE stove worth about $328.

An arrest warrant also alleges that Cooper broke into a home on Waterstone Drive between Feb. 27 and Feb. 28 and stole a GE microwave oven and GE oven worth a combined total of about $1,099, Metts said. In addition, an arrest warrant alleges that Cooper broke into a second home on Waterstone Drive between March 1 and March 2 and stole a GE oven worth about $599.

"Detectives found a list of homes on Cooper’s person that included the seven homes that Cooper has been charged with breaking into, with a line drawn through the street addresses for the residences," Metts said.

Metts said the case remains under investigation. The sheriff asked anyone with information about additional criminal activity involving Cooper to call the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department at (803) 785-8230 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.