Closure To Meadowlake Burglaries
9/22/2006
The residents of the Meadowlake Village
Subdivision can rest peacefully again, knowing that the man that wreaked havoc in their subdivision in 2005 is behind bars
for awhile. Harold Floyd Cohen was sentenced to 30 years on September 11th, in the 180th Criminal District Court.
Harold
Cohen was linked to 20 burglaries in and around Meadowlake Village from March to November of 2005. The Harris County Sheriff's
Office Burglary Apprehension Response Squad (BARS) of District III worked vigorously at solving this series of residential
burglaries. The investigation reached several dead ends as there were no eyewitnesses, no fingerprints and none of the stolen
property turned up in pawnshops. However, the deputies were optimistic that the thief would soon slip up, leaving them a clue
to his identity.
That break came on October 11, 2005, when a single fingerprint was lifted from the base
of a computer left at the scene of a burglary on Wade Rd. On November 7, 2005, Deputy J. Guthrie received latent lab results
indicating that the print found on the computer matched that of Harold Cohen. The deputy immediately contacted the District
Attorney's Office and they accepted Burglary of a Habitation charge on suspect Cohen.
Nine days later
on November 16th, latent lab results linked Cohen to an October 5th burglary on Sioux Street. A second charge of Burglary
was filed on suspect Cohen. Now BARS was not just focused on investigations, their sights were set on apprehending Cohen and
sealing his conviction.
In the meantime, he hit again on November 10, 2005 on Jerusalem Ct. This time,
unfortunately for Cohen, the resident heard him inside the garage and went to investigate. The homeowner scared him away and
watched as the black male suspect rode off on a blue bicycle. Deputies compiled a photo spread of the suspect, and the homeowner
identified Harold Cohen as the man that was in the garage. Deputy K. Sims filed the third burglary charge on Cohen.
On
Sunday, November 13, 2005, Harris County Sheriff's Deputies received information which led to the apprehension of Harold Floyd
Cohen, Jr. BARS and patrol deputies diligently sought the suspect. Crime Stopper fliers were circulated with Cohen's description.
This break in the case came when a caller gave information which lead deputies to Cohen's location. Deputies approached a
residence located in the 3100 block of Royal Avenue. Cohen was located hiding in a closet and taken into custody without incident.
The investigative effort did not stop at his arrest. Sergeant Manning, supervisor of the BARS unit, prepared
a M.O. Pattern Analysis (Method of Operation) and solicited the help of Crime Analyst Richard Dorman. On December 7, 2005,
Dorman prepared statistics of residential burglaries in the key map grid most targeted by the suspect. This search revealed
that after the suspect's arrest, there were no more Burglary of Habitation reports filed in that specific grid.
All
of the incriminating evidence was compiled and presented to Harris County Assistant District Attorney Carvana Hicks. Ms. Hicks
was very optimistic and told deputies she would be seeking a sentence of 99 years against Cohen. The BARS deputies and the
Crime Analyst were looking forward to their day in court. However, that day never came. With the array of evidence before
him, Harold Floyd Cohen opted not to go to trial and struck a deal with prosecutors. On September 11, 2006, Cohen pled guilty
and accepted a 30 year sentence for the burglaries.
Deputy Guthrie spoke to Cohen after sentencing and
he assured the deputy that he wouldn't be returning to Harris County upon parole and thinks he will try his luck in California.
He also confided that all the stolen property was either sold on the streets or traded for drugs, which explains why none
of the property was recovered.
The collaborative efforts of the District III BARS Unit, Patrol Deputies,
Crime Analyst and Crime Stoppers led to justice being served on Harold Cohen. This was a job well done by all.
Deputy
K. Jordan
Media Liaison
District III
