A 15-year-old is accused of stealing a car and a dirt bike during an overnight crime spree.
LIVERMORE FALLS – A 15-year-old boy’s alleged 24-hour crime spree has landed him in police custody.
The Livermore Falls teen was charged with several counts of burglary and theft in connection with a stolen car and dirt bike, and a joy ride through Franklin County to Oquossoc and back to Phillips, where the car’s engine blew.
Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Michelle St. Clair took the boy into custody in Weld, Sheriff’s Department Lt. Niles Yeaton said.
The teen was being held Friday at a South Portland youth detention center. He will be arraigned Tuesday at Lewiston District Court, Livermore Falls police Chief Ernest S. Steward Jr. said.
The spree started when Isaacson’s Lumber Co. employees called police about a suspicious incident Wednesday night, Livermore Falls police Lt. Thomas E. Gould stated in a press release.
Several of the workers found a young male in the rear section of the building with a nearly new dirt bike, Gould stated.
The dirt bike was not running, and the teen was trying to get it started, Gould stated. After employees called police, the boy took off with the dirt bike.
Gould and Livermore Falls police officer Terry Wheeler followed the tracks, which led back to the house from where the bike was stolen, he stated. A detached shed had a lock ripped off, he said.
Six of Isaacson’s employees identified the suspected youth from a photo, Gould stated. Police went to the boy’s home and his father said he was missing, Gould stated.
Police searched for the subject but to no avail.
On Thursday morning, police received a call from a Bellaire Road resident reporting her Mercury Tracer missing from her driveway. Officer Bruce Benson alerted surrounding towns of the stolen car.
Later that morning, a Hillcrest resident reported that her vehicle was entered and a cell phone was taken during the night, Gould stated.
Steward said Friday that the boy allegedly broke into several vehicles, smashing the windows of locked vehicles to gain entry.
Franklin County Cpl. Nathan Bean picked up evidence Thursday morning that was allegedly thrown out of the stolen vehicle in Strong.
Shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday, a Phillips resident reported a vehicle broken down in his driveway.
County Deputy Aaron Turcotte ran the plate and it came back as the Livermore Falls’ resident whose car was stolen, Gould stated.
The resident reported a boy walking north on Route 142, Yeaton said. St. Clair found the boy some distance from the scene, Gould stated.
The juvenile, who was reported to have been driving the stolen car, was the same one wanted for the dirt bike incident in Livermore Falls, Gould stated.
Further investigation into the case, Gould stated, found that three vehicles on Hillcrest, two others on Bellaire and one on Beaulieu Road were all entered.
“The stolen vehicle had been in Oquossoc and was returning to Livermore Falls when the engine blew,” Gould said.
“We recovered two cell phones, some sunglasses and a bag of change from the suspect, all of which were stolen during the night,” Gould stated. “As far as we know all of the property, with the exception of some change, was recovered.”
The boy, initially said to be 17, was charged with one count each of burglary and theft from a building, five counts of burglary to a motor vehicle, three counts of theft from motor vehicles, two counts of attempted theft and unauthorized use of a stolen vehicle, Gould said.
The teen had been in trouble before, Steward said, and was put on a probation hold by a juvenile officer.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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