Newport Police Chief Leonard Macdaid said Monday that a dozen motor vehicle burglaries and theft of items in his town Friday night into Saturday could possibly be linked to car thefts and other crimes by the same person in locations from Vermont to Bangor and into Franklin and Somerset counties.
“All the evidence is lining up that it’s the same person,” Macdaid said by phone Monday. “That same night, coming down the Interstate, the state police had a high speed chase. The vehicle that was recovered that was dumped in Newport at one of our businesses had the same vehicle description that was in the high speed chase.
“We believe it’s all related.”
Macdaid said the vehicle had been stolen in Vermont. He said he thinks it was the same person driving the same vehicle that was involved in car burglaries in the Franklin County town of Jay. He said the suspect continued on to Bangor, where there were more car burglaries, and into Newport where 12 vehicles were reported burglarized this past weekend.
“After he dumped the stolen vehicle from Vermont in Newport, he stole another vehicle out of Pray’s Auto gas station, and drove that vehicle to Palmyra and dumped it at Pat’s Propane parking lot, then he stole another vehicle and continued on into Somerset County.”
According to the Somerset County radio dispatch logs, there was a report of an auto theft on Main Street in Palmyra at 8:06 a.m. Saturday and another report of an auto theft and a car burglary later that morning at 9:45 a.m. on Gee Street in Palmyra.
Those were followed by motor vehicle burglaries in Skowhegan, Norridgewock and Hartland.
Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster agrees that the incidents appear to be related.
Lancaster said that at approximately 9 a.m. on Saturday, Deputy Toby Blodgett recovered a stolen service truck — a 2007 Chevy 2500. The truck had been stolen from Pat’s Propane on Main Street in Palmyra. The service truck was recovered on Gee Road in Palmyra.
A short time later, Deputy Blodgett was called back to the Gee Road in Palmyra — within 50 yards of the recovered 2007 Chevy 2500 service truck — for a report of a stolen silver 2011 Ford Focus.
While investigating the report of the stolen Ford Focus, at approximately 10:45 a.m. Deputy Blodgett recovered a 2006 black Chevy 1500 that had been abandoned on the side of the road along Route 2. That vehicle had been reported stolen from Newport the night before, according to Lancaster.
At approximately 7 p.m. Saturday the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the Lisbon Police Department that they had recovered the 2011 silver Ford Focus in their town. The Ford Focus had been involved in a pursuit by Lisbon police.
The pursuit ended with the male driver fleeing from the Ford Focus.
“Lisbon police also advised our deputies that a vehicle had been stolen a short time after the pursuit from the town of Lisbon,” Lancaster said. “The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office is working with all agencies involved. The vehicles are being processed for evidence and the investigation is ongoing.”
Anyone with any information may contact the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office at 474-9591.
“We do have a suspect we’re working on; it’s under investigation,” Macdaid said, adding that he doesn’t think the person is local to central Maine. “I just want to let the public know to please lock your vehicles. Do not leave your keys in your vehicles. The public’s not in danger at this point, there’s no type of ongoing threat, but it’s so much better if people lock their vehicles, take valuables out of their vehicles and never, never leave your keys in your vehicle.”
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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