Auto Burglary Suspect Caught Thanks To Footprints In The Snow

Snow sucks, I hate cold weather and I don't like having to drive in it.  Yet, I have to admit, snow does have some benefits.  Not only does it make for a good snowball fight, it can lend a hand to police catching criminals when there's snow on the ground in Amarillo.  Like this story here, where an auto burglary suspect was caught at the Motel 6 off I-40 between Grand & Eastern thanks to his footprints in the snow.  Not only did it lead to the arrest of the suspect in the auto burglary, it also recovered a stolen vehicle.  This is one of those stories where Amarillo Police killed two birds with one stone.  I hear Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird!

I guess the suspect didn't think about the fact that he was leaving a trail of footprints in the snow when he was making his getaway.  As the responding officers traced his footprints, they noticed that the footprints actually made a U-turn back to the motel where he was committing the crime.

Amarillo Police

"On 2-6-14, at 11:30 PM, officers were sent to the parking lot of the Motel 6 at 4301 E. IH-40 on an auto burglary in progress. A witness reported that a WM wearing a black jacket was removing items from a car on the lot and placing them into a white GMC pickup parked near it. The suspect then left the area of the theft on foot, running east across the lot. Responding officers found that the suspect’s footprints in the snow showed that he had turned back toward the motel. While searching the area, they saw a man that matched the description of the suspect walking near an exterior stairwell. He was Shaman Lee Cooper WM 29. He told officers that he was staying at the motel. Officers detained him, and a witness identified him as the one taking items from the car. Officers also found that the GMC pickup involved had been reported stolen in Pampa. Officers checked the suspect’s room and found Jennifer Nichole Jones WF 23 there. She was wanted on a Gray County misdemeanor theft warrant. She was taken into custody and booked into the Potter County Detention Center. Cooper was booked for burglary of a motor vehicle and an outstanding traffic warrant. No charges related to the recovered stolen vehicle have been filed."