A homeless city man was rearrested for burglary this morning after he was found passed out near the intersection of Rickard and Front Streets with a shotgun strapped to his nearby bicycle, according to city police.
Kyle J. Cobb, 34, was arrested shortly after 6 a.m. — just eight days since he was last arrested and charged with burglarizing student housing on Owego Street.
Police were called this morning to the intersection after receiving a report of a man apparently asleep in the grass, stated Lt. Michael Strangeway. When officers arrived they discovered Cobb passed out on the ground near his overturned bicycle, Strangeway said. An unloaded, 12 gauge shotgun was strapped to the bicycle’s handlebars with a bungee cord, while a compound bow enclosed in its carrying case was strapped to the back of the bicycle, he said.
Investigators determined the gun was stolen from a vehicle on Front Street while the bow was burgled from another Front Street property’s enclosed shed, Strangeway said. Officers also discovered Cobb had other items that were likely stolen from other area vehicles or residences, he said.
Cobb was cooperative with officers when he was arrested and has no known history of violence, Strangeway said.
“I would assume they (the stolen weapons) were for sale,” Strangeway said. “He’s an admitted drug addict.”
Cobb is a convicted felon, he noted. It is illegal for felons to possess weapons in the State.
Strangeway encouraged residents to keep their homes, vehicles and sheds locked at all times and to report any suspicious activity to police. Anyone who discovers items from their properties in the area of Rickard and Front Streets went missing overnight should contact Detective Sgt. Dan Edwards at (607) 758-8308.
Cobb was last arrested for burglary on April 28 after a group of students returned home to find him inside their Owego Street home, according to police.
“Having been caught doing burglaries on two separate occasions within a week would indicate that Mr.Cobb has no intention of stopping,” Strangeway said.
The bail reforms enacted in January require that those arrested for non-violent offenses, such as second-degree burglary, be released on a court appearance ticket or “under the least-restrictive non-monetary conditions” possible, according to a 2019 report by the New York State Association of Counties.
Cobb was charged today with third-degree burglary and two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, felonies, as well as fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of petit larceny, misdemeanors. Cobb was set to be released this afternoon and is due back at 9 a.m. on June 19 in City Court.
