Police Make Arrest in Business Robberies. Fire Puts Out Blaze in Shady Side

Anne Arundel County Police arrested a man on Monday in connection with a series of commercial robberies. According to a media release from police spokesman Justin Mulcahy, the robberies involved a single suspect making forced entries into buildings. In the Southern District, the businesses hit were:

Police arrested David Evi Cooper for a series of robberies, including a half-dozen in Edgewater.

• Sweet Tarts Snowballs
• Peninsula Farms Produce
• Tubzie’s Shaved Ice
• Davidsonville Market
• Sue’s Deli, and
• Tropical Bay Water Gardens

All of the incidents occurred in July and early August. There were also a dozen businesses hit in Eastern and Western police districts. The media release said that Anne Arundel County Police got a big break in the case on July 19, while investigating a burglary at the Fairgrounds in Crownsville. There, a cell phone was recovered which led police to have a name to go on, Mulcahy said.

Nine days later, Eastern District police detectives got video surveillance from a snowball stand that was hit. That led police to identify David Evi Cooper as the culprit. Police got an arrest warrant for Cooper on Aug. 3 the release said.

On Aug. 6, a man ran a red light on his motorcycle and was pulled over by police. He was identified as Cooper. The officers knew about the warrant and brought Cooper in.

According to the media release, Cooper was interviewed by police from Eastern, Southern and Western district stations. Police now believe that Cooper was involved in robberies of Southern District busineses (above) and the following businesses as well:

Eastern District:

• Severna Park Golf Center
• Gary’s Garden
• Arnold Farm Garden Center
• Rey’s Crab Shack
• Extra Space Storage
• Ice Shack

Western District:

• Fischer Landscaping
• Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds
• Eisenhower Golf Course
• Crownsville Gardens
• Franklin Landscaping

Fire in Shady Side

Around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Anne Arundel County Fire responded to a call in the 4900 block of Idlewilde Road in Shady Side for a report of a fire in a single-story family residence, according to fire department spokesman Chief Michael Cox. When they arrived, fire fighters found smoke showing and entered the home to find the cause. Fire fighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire, which had originated in the kitchen. Cox said the cause was accidental, unattended cooking. No damage estimate was available.