Three people have been charged and 11 guns recovered from burglaries in Oxford, Cumberland and York counties the past two months, state police said Tuesday.
Arrested on Monday were 20-year-old Cole Meserve of Standish, his sister, 21-year-old Amber Meserve of Limerick, and 23-year-old Christopher Michaud of Limerick, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said in a news release. They are charged with numerous counts of burglary and theft, he said.
State police Trooper Jeremy Forbes said the trio is responsible for over 20 burglaries and were using the money generated from the stolen items to buy drugs, McCausland said.
The three were arraigned in Springvale District Court. Cole Meserve’s bail was set at $15,000; the other two are being held on $20,000 each, McCausland said. All three remain in the York County Jail in Alfred, he said.
“It is believed that Amber Meserve had her two small children in her vehicle during some of the burglaries. A second woman is likely to be charged later after investigators located a large amount of heroin during one of the searches,” the news release said.
According to McCausland, York County Sheriff’s Department deputies received a tip Monday on where to find the guns, leading them to a home on Hurlin Smith Road in Buxton, McCausland said. The tip followed a news release Monday that deputies and state police had arrested three people responsible for upward of 20 burglaries in three counties since October.
Troopers, deputies and local police have been investigating daytime residential burglaries in Brownfield, Denmark, Sebago, Gorham, Limington, Limerick, Dayton and Lyman. In each break-in, doors were kicked in and guns, electronics, jewelry, cash, dirt bikes and marijuana taken, McCausland said.
Officers recovered a .50-caliber sniper rifle, three Ruger special edition pistols and three assault rifles. Investigators think there may still be three or four guns unaccounted for, he said.
Search warrants were issued last week, leading to home searches in Limerick and Buxton on Friday and early Saturday morning. Officers also searched a self-storage locker facility in Limerick.
State police believe there are three or four more guns unaccounted for and are asking that anyone with information about them call the state police barracks in Gray at 657-3030 and ask for Trooper Forbes.
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- Police recovered a .50-caliber sniper rifle, three Ruger special edition pistols and three assault rifles from a home in Buxton on Monday night. The weapons were taken during burglaries in Oxford, Cumberland and York counties in the past two months, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said.
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- Police recovered these guns from a home on Hurlin Smith Road in Buxton on Monday night. They are believed stolen from burglaries in Oxford, Cumberland and York counties in the past two months, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said.
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