Man who vandalized 2 churches, several businesses has history of criminal mischief, police say

A man was arrested and charged in connection to a string of vandalisms in Philadelphia earlier this week, according to police.

Haneef Cooper, 39, has been charged for damaging six properties as police investigate at least three other vandalism incidents, Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said.

These incidents all happened during the overnight hours of Feb. 18 into Feb. 19 as well as Feb. 20, police said.

Most included rocks or bricks being thrown through the windows of businesses and two churches, Vanore said.

Catching Haneef Cooper

Police in Philadelphia partnered with SEPTA police to investigate the vandalism incidents. Detectives interviewed witnesses and watched surveillance videos.

Through the process, police were able to gather a distinctive description of the suspect, Vanore said. Then, they were able to get video from nearby locations that showed a suspect that matched the description.

Officials with SEPTA saw the suspect and arrested him around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. Cooper was then taken to Philadelphia Police where he was charged with four of the incidents.

Police reported on Saturday that Cooper has been charged with vandalism at a total of six locations in the city of Philadelphia so far.

Cooper was caught on camera knocking over a large flower pot outside of the Touraine Apartments located on the 1500 block of Spruce Street on Feb. 19.

Leaders at Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church on the 400 block of South 6th Street reported that a door window as well as three stained glass windows were damaged. Police say a witness who lives nearby told them she heard the sound of glass breaking between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. and that she saw a man throwing something toward the church.

This was followed by the staff at the Playa Bowls on the 200 block of South 11th Street reporting damage to a side window. A camera caught a man throwing a rock at the window around 6:39 a.m.

Then, cameras caught a man throwing a rock through the window of an electronics repair store on the 1100 block of Walnut Street around 8:20 a.m. this same day.

The next day, Feb. 20, staff at the Science History Institute on the 300 block of Chestnut Street told police about damage to a window on the west side of the building. Surveillance video showed a man throwing a rock at this window around 9 a.m.

This same man, alleged to be Cooper, was caught on SEPTA video going into the 5th Street Market-Frankford Station a few minutes later.

Surveillance video also caught a man throwing objects at the windows of the Saint Peter the Apostle Church and the Saint John Neumann Shrine located on the 1000 block of North 5th Street early in the morning on Feb. 20.

Cooper has been charged with criminal mischief, institutional vandalism and possession with an instrument of crime for each incident, police said.

History of Criminal Mischief

Cooper has a history of criminal mischief that dates back to 2011, Vanore explained.

A number of the cases previously include Cooper being charged with breaking windows, according to Vanore.

Back in 2011, Cooper was arrested for throwing a paint can through a window at City Hall.

Then, in 2013, he was charged again for criminal mischief on Spring Garden Street and then was caught breaking all of the kiosks in front of the Philadelphia Parking Authority office on Filbert Street.

Cooper then assaulted a detective in 2016 and committed more vandalism in 2017 before he was arrested in 2018, according to investigators.

Vanore told reporters that they do not know what Cooper's motive is for these vandalisms yet.

Two churches vandalized

The two churches that were hit are Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church on the 400 block of 6th Street and Saint Peter the Apostle Church on the 1000 block of North 5th Street.

"It's a difficult thing to see by virtue of the fact it really is an oasis," Father Michael Cunningham of Saint Peter the Apostle Church said. "You need a skilled artisan to correct what's been damaged. But thanks be to God it can be remedied. It should be able to be repaired, but its extensive damage.

Stained glass windows at these historic churches were broken and the damage is estimated to cost $20,000.

"The places he's damaging, oddly enough, are the same places that could give him what he needs. So it sort of is a paradoxical relationship that's unfolding," Father Cunningham said.

Several businesses vandalized

A number of businesses were also vandalized by Cooper, police said.

The other incidents that investigators are still looking into include:

• 1000 block of Pine Street just after 6:30 a.m.
• 500 block of South 9th Street
• 200 block of South Hicks Street