East Hampton Police Arrest Brothers on Charges of Stealing Copper Pipes

East Hampton police have arrested two local brothers on charges they burglarized a Summit Street business and stole copper pipes from inside it.

Christopher Cherry, 25, and Brian Cherry, 24, of 159 Main St., East Hampton, were each charged with third-degree burglary and sixth-degree larceny on Sunday, March 9.

Christopher Cherry also was charged with violation of probation and was released on a $10,000 bond. Brian Cherry was additionally charged with failure to respond to an infraction from a pre-existing arrest warrant.  He was released after posting  a $5,075 bond.

Both are scheduled to appear in court on March 19.

The two were reported as suspicious persons in the Summit Street area at about 11 a.m. on Sunday after they were seen by a neighbor loitering around 13 Summit St.

The commercial building there is unoccupied and being prepared for renovation.  The witness called police after seeing the two men walking in the area again a short time later. This time, however, the witness noticed that the pair had sacks over their shoulders that contained weighty objects.

“The witness began following them while calling the police and watched as they ditched their sacks near the Airline Trail behind Main Street Pizza, split up, and started to flee after realizing they were being followed,” police said in a press released issued today.

Officers Matthew Hanlon and Mark Pekar responded and initiated a coordinated manhunt in the area for the suspects.  Off. Hanlon located Christopher Cherry behind the apartment building at 82 Main St. and Off. Pekar located Brian Cherry by the Board of Education Building at 100 Main St., police said.

Police said both men were already wanted persons and had active arrest warrants. Christopher Cherry is a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history, police said, including multiple arrests since 2003 for burglary, larceny, assault and robbery. Brian Cherry is also a convicted felon, and has previous arrests for burglary and larceny, police said.  

A follow-up investigation revealed that the sacks the men discarded by the Airline Trail were full of approximately 30 pounds of copper pipes that had been stolen from inside the building at 13 Summit St., police said.