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ELKINS -- A Randolph County man accused of stealing more than $10,000 worth of items from a Mill Creek woman’s garage entered into a plea agreement in Randolph County Circuit Court Wednesday.
Robert Eugene Cooper, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of grand larceny, a felony. He will be expected to pay restitution and the state will not give a recommendation during sentencing. Cooper is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.
He was initially charged with one count of burglary and one count of grand larceny, both felonies. In June, Cooper was indicted by a Randolph County Grand Jury on one count of burglary, one count of grand larceny, and one count of conspiracy, all felonies.
During the Wednesday hearing, Cooper was represented by attorney Morris Davis, and the state was represented by Assistant Prosecutor Colin Henning. Circuit Judge Jaymie Wilfong presided over the hearing and accepted Cooper’s plea.
Henning laid out the factual basis of the case against Cooper, informing the court that, on Dec. 23, 2025, Senior Deputy A.M. Channell, with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, received a report of a break-in at a Mill Creek residence.
The victim reported that she found her garage had been broken into and that various items were missing. The missing items included clothing, purses, shoes, decorations, wrapping paper, a vanity, a chandelier and other assorted items that in total valued approximately $10,650 total. Channell received a tip that Cooper had been staying in the bathroom at the baseball field in Mill Creek, which was nearby the residence. Channell found most of the items in that bathroom.
During an interview with Channell, Cooper denied taking the items, but did admit they were in his possession, Henning told the court. In a second interview, Channell told Cooper that they had footage of him during the theft and the shoes he was wearing matched the ones seen in the video. Cooper said that another man had borrowed his shoes, but when Channell spoke to this other man, he told Channell that he had assisted Cooper in taking the items out of the garage.
Before accepting the plea Wednesday, Wilfong asked Cooper to explain what made him guilty of felony grand larceny. Cooper told the court that he took items, such as clothes, shoes, the vanity and the chandelier, out of the victim’s garage. He said he did not know the victim and he did not have permission to take those items from her. Wilfong asked if the total value of the items taken was equal to at least $1,000, and Cooper said yes.
A sentencing hearing for Cooper has been scheduled for Nov. 17 in Randolph County Circuit Court.