MONTGOMERY, WV (LOOTPRESS) — A man is facing charges after police say he attempted to remove a Montgomery Police Department trail camera from a building along Third Avenue.
According to the Montgomery Police Department, officers were notified around 8:45 a.m. on February 16, 2026, about an attempted theft at 706 Third Avenue.
A witness, an employee at a nearby business, told officers she saw a man later identified as Maurice Coping standing on a cinderblock while trying to remove a trail camera mounted on the back awning of the building facing the alley. Bell said the suspect fled after realizing he was being watched.
When officers examined the scene, they reportedly found a cinderblock positioned beneath the camera to make it easier to reach. Police also observed the camera mount had been mostly loosened and that the device sustained minor damage, allegedly from being struck with a stick in an effort to knock it down.
Officers later located Coping and made contact with him. Police say he told them he was not attempting to steal the camera, but claimed he was trying to take it down to determine what it was.
Based on the investigation, Coping has been charged with attempt to commit a misdemeanor and destruction of property.
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
