AMESBURY — A local teen was arrested early Sunday after police say he broke into his downstairs neighbor's apartment shortly after midnight and touched her while she was sleeping.
Cody Harkness, 18, of 273 Main St., was charged with nighttime breaking and entering to commit a felony, unarmed burglary and assault, malicious destruction of property more than $250 and assault and battery.
He was arraigned in Newburyport District Court yesterday and is being held on $2,500 cash bail or $25,000 surety. Should he make bail, he will have to stay away from the victim, be medication compliant and stay with his sister, who also lives on Main Street in Amesbury. He is expected back in court on Jan. 18 for a pretrial hearing.
Harkness was arrested in his third-floor apartment, but only after a search of the surrounding area that involved multiple police officers and the department's K-9 unit, according to Amesbury police Lt. Jeffrey Worthen.
Worthen said it appears theft wasn't the motivation for the break-in.
"He didn't break in to steal anything," Worthen said.
According to a report written by Amesbury police officer Larry Bybee, it appears the victim, a 42-year-old woman, didn't know it was her upstairs neighbor who sneaked up to her bed that night.
Harkness, according to the report, opened a door found in the common area of the three-story house that led into her closet. Once in her closet, he snuck up to her bed and touched her upper body.
The victim then woke up and yelled an expletive at him. The suspect, wearing a black hat and black clothing, laughed as he ran through the closet, breaking off both doors and fleeing the apartment.
Minutes later, the suspect approached the victim, asking her what all the commotion was all about and said he heard someone fall down the stairs and run out of the house. Police then spoke to the victim, who mentioned Harkness might have seen the home invader.
As police were combing the area looking for the suspect, officers went up to Harkness' apartment and began talking to him. Police noticed he looked nervous and was out of breath. They also noticed a black hat and black clothing on the ground that matched the description given by the victim.
When police went into the apartment, an officer spotted three shirts that the victim had reported missing from her closet.
Eventually, Harkness admitted his involvement, saying to police, "I screwed up," according to the report.
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