Man stuck in snow breaks into school, spends 2 days cooking, shooting hoops, NY cops say
A man in upstate New York broke into a school over Christmas break and spent several days inside, cooking in a classroom and playing basketball in the gymnasium, police said.
While driving on a state highway on Christmas Day, a 35-year-old man got stuck in a snowbank near Brownville, a small town near the Canadian border, according to a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office press release. The area had been pummeled by a blizzard, leaving behind several feet of snow.
According to police, it appears as though the man then spent the next two days “inhabiting” General Brown High School, located nearby. He snacked on food from a concession stand, cooked in a home economics classroom and shot hoops in the gymnasium.
At one point he left the school to return to his snowbound vehicle, an SUV, but discovered that it had disappeared, according to WWNY. When he called county officials, he was told the car had been towed and to get in touch with the towing company.
Instead, the man returned to the school and stayed for another day, according to the outlet.
Afterwards, the man, a resident of Watertown, made off with the school’s snow plow truck, police said.
He was later found about 5 miles away inside a Watertown general store while attempting to steal thousands of dollars worth of firearms and “hunting, trapping, camping, and fishing gear” on Dec. 27, police said. The stolen plow truck was spotted parked outside.
He had been loading all the looted gear on a sled close to an exit, police said.
The episode, which police dubbed “Blizzard Burglary Blitz Bust,” resulted in the man being charged with two counts of burglary, one count of grand larceny, attempted grand larceny, three counts of criminal mischief, and possession of burglar’s tools, police said.
He was arraigned in county court on Dec. 27 and is due to reappear in Watertown Court on Dec. 29, police said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a McClatchy News request for comment.
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