Man arrested after breaking out vehicle windows

BEDFORD – A homeless man was arrested on a warrant Wednesday on a charge of aiding in criminal mischief after he assisted in breaking out vehicle windows on July 7, 2020. 

According to a probable cause affidavit, Bedford Police Officers began their investigation after a report of a theft and damage to windows of vehicles at R&L Transmission on 5th Street. The caller said the male breaking the windows was in a blue van.

When police were responding they found a blue van in the 1130 block of 6th Street. 

The officer noticed the side window was shattered. 

The vehicle was not occupied and the officer attempted to find the registered owner. 

While officers were searching, an officer located a blue Dodge Caravan traveling north on Lincoln Avenue. The driver was 20-year-old Bradley Brkljac.

The front seat passenger was identified as Nevaeh Workman and the rear passengers were identified as Olivia Chapman, Brayden Bush, and Daniel Owen. Bush told police the vehicle was his mothers. 

The officers noticed a CO2 pistol at the feet of Daniel Owen.

Everyone in the van denied shattering windows. 

Due to the lack of evidence at the time, Officers released all the occupants and the van from the scene.

At R&L Transmission officers found four vehicles with broken windows. Police say the windows had been shot out with a BB or pellet gun. 

While searching the area four more vehicles were found with damage. 

Throughout the night officers located vehicles with broken windows or windshields, and the department  received several complaints the next morning of additional car windows being broken throughout the city. A total of 22 vehicles were reported damaged.

On the morning of July 7, 2020 police retrieved video from Becky’s Place which is located just west of  R&L Transmission on 5th Street.

The video captured a male on foot being closely followed by the van. The male then walks up to a Ford Focus in the parking lot of  R&L Transmission and appears to shoot out the window and continues to walk east on 5th Street. All the other vehicles that were damaged at R & L Transmission were east of the Ford Focus. 

The male in the video was Daniel Owen. 

During the investigation, Police learned that Brkljac assisted Owen in breaking out the windows. 

Police arrested 19-year-old Daniel Owens on 22 counts of criminal mischief on Monday, September 7, 2020.