Man found dead in Plainfield camper, police investigating as homicide
Police in Plainfield are conducting a homicide investigation after a man was found dead in a camper Thursday evening.
Keith C. Coolidge Jr., 47, was found dead about 6:30 p.m. in a camper on the property where he lived at 75 Community Ave., according to the Plainfield Police Department. Police were investigating the death as a homicide based on information gathered on the scene.
Coolidge was taken to the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Farmington for an autopsy. The cause and manner of death had not yet been determined, pending the autopsy results, police said.
A few hours later, police arrested Coolidge's brother, 37-year-old Keith T. Coolidge, in the area of Dunkin' Donuts on E. Main St. in Central Village on a violation of a protective order charge, according to Plainfield Captain Mario A. Arriaga.
The younger Coolidge was arrested about 9:30 p.m. He was being held on a $250,000 bond and was arraigned in Danielson Superior Court on Friday, where he was also charged with first-degree criminal trespass, according to reports from the Norwich Bulletin.
Plainfield police and the Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad were conducting a joint investigation. Coolidge had not yet posted bond Friday night. While police would not confirm whether he was a suspect in his brother's death, they did say that a suspect had been identified and there was no threat to the public.
Keith T. Coolidge has an extensive criminal record with arrests and convictions dating back to 2004. He has been found guilty on charges ranging from sexual assault to criminal trespass, according to the state's judicial website. Coolidge was sentenced to 30 months in prison after being found guilty of unlawful restraint in August 2017.
In March, he was arrested after allegedly "banging" on the windows of a Community Avenue residence while armed with a machete and dressed in camouflage gear and a ski mask, according to the Norwich Bulletin, which originally reported on the incident in March. Police at the time, according to Bulletin reports, had said Coolidge entered the building and made threats to a resident inside. The incident prompted schools and businesses in the area to be locked down. Coolidge was later captured with the help of police K-9s and a department drone in a wooded area near Oakwood Boulevard. He was charged with second-degree threatening and in July was sentenced to six months in prison.
Day Staff Writer Mary Biekert contributed to this report.
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