Winterville man arrested for burglarizing home in east Athens

Daniel Jay Cochran

By Joe Johnson

A 55-year-old Winterville man was arrested early the morning of July 3rd for breaking into a home on Cedar Creek Drive,

Daniel Cochran was identified as the suspect from home surveillance footage and when linked to a car that was parked in the driveway when officers arrived at the crime scene.

Police were alerted to the incident by the homeowner who called 911 at 12:50 a.m. to report a burglary in progress: a man had broken through his fence and was trying to pry open a back door. He was said to be armed with a hatchet and pry tool,

He described the burglar as a white male with eyeglasses who was wearing a Jim Beam hat and dark shirt with a woman’s face,

Police learned that the car in the driveway was registered to a woman on Beaverdam Road in Winterville. When contacted she told police that her husband Daniel was using it but didn’t know where he was.

In bushes by the driveway officers found property that had been taken from the house, including a guitar in its case, a collectible sword and knife, along with burglary tools.

Cochran later returned to the house and drove away in the car that had remained in the driveway.

Police conducted a traffic stop and arrested him, wearing the same clothing as seen in the surveillance footage.

Cochran was booked into the county jail on a first-degree burglary charge and was released the following day upon posting a $5,000 bond,