Crime of opportunity at Chesco courthouse

Talk about multitasking.

Brian C. Warren, 38, of Coatesville, was due in Chester County Court for a Domestic Relations hearing on Feb. 8. Instead, he opted for a couple of detours, authorities say, entering two separate secretaries' offices and grabbing cash and credit cards from purses underneath desks.

Both secretaries reported the thefts after returning to their desks, the criminal complaint said. Investigators reviewed courthouse video surveillance and saw a man later identified by Domestic Relations personnel as Warren enter the offices and stuff "something under the front of his shirt" after leaving one of them, the complaint said.

Even though one of the thefts occurred down the hall from Courtroom 9, where Warren was scheduled to face a judge for failure to pay child support, he was a no-show, the complaint said.

Warren's arrearages were not made public, but it is unlikely that his alleged theft, which netted about $25 in cash, would have made a dent in his debt.

In the meantime, he awaits a preliminary hearing on theft charges before Magisterial District Judge Mark Bruno on March 6.