GLENBURN — Two men with criminal records and a female accomplice were caught red handed Wednesday leaving an abandoned Hudson Road house with a load of stolen cop-per, according to police.
A neighbor saw a truck pull in behind the deserted building at around 5:45 p.m. and called Maine State Police. When Trooper Brian Bean arrived he found the backdoor open, but no one around. Around 9:30 p.m., the neighbor called again to report the vehicle was back.
When Bean pulled into the yard the second time he came upon the truck leaving the scene, the trooper said.
The officer said the suspects had taken “all of the pipe con-nected to the boiler off. About half of the bed of the pickup was filled with copper.”
In the truck were Corey Brown, 19, of Milo, and Chris-topher Campbell, 23, and Cera Smart, 20, who live together in Glenburn.
All three were charged with burglary, a Class C felony crime punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Brown, who was on proba-tion for a prior burglary, and Campbell also were charged with criminal mischief. Brown also had an outstanding war-rant.
“He has more than several convictions,” Bean said of Brown. “The other guy [Camp-bell] is a felon also.”
All three were taken to Pe-nobscot County Jail and had their first appearance in 3rd District Court in Bangor on Thursday. Smart was released on bail that day, but both Brown and Campbell remained in jail Thursday evening, a jail official said.
Brown’s bail was set at $1,000 cash and Campbell’s bail was set at $250.
The theft of copper and other metals, which can be sold for scrap, has increased in recent years to the point where “it’s very common,” Bean said.
The trooper suggests that people lock and secure their homes, especially when no one is around, and that neighbors watch out for each other.