It’s been said that politics make strange bedfellows. Apparently it also makes for strange motorcycle larceny. At the end of October, a Rhode Island State Representative who recently lost his bid for reelection was criminally charged with attempting to steal the political signs of another candidate. The truly offensive part is he was riding a motorcycle during the commission of the crime.
A witness identified Brian Coogan as the person who drove a motorcycle up to a house in East Providence and directed his female passenger to remove the sign for city council candidate Bruce Rogers from a fence. But during the excitement, Coogan dropped the bike and a different stolen sign fell off the motorcycle. The two managed to pick up the bike and then sped away without either sign since the one on the fence was securely attached. The witness identified Coogan from a photo lineup at police headquarters.
The former representative lives nearby, on the same street as where the offense occurred, and his house is the same residence listed on campaign documents as the home address of Anna Sousa, Roger’s opponent in the council race. Police state that the female accomplice, who was wearing a helmet, had not been identified.
And while Coogan denied the allegations stating, “That’s stuff that kids do,” a 2016 Harley-Davidson is registered in his name.
