BELFAST, Maine — A man who allegedly was caught by police stealing metal from a vacant home on Swan Lake Avenue has been issued a summons in connection with the theft.
Clarence J. Lawrence, 34, of the village of Glen Cove in Rockport was one of three related men found at the home on the night of March 25 when police responded to a complaint that there was a “lot of ruckus” going on there, according to a report from the Belfast Police Department.
The men told police that they had permission to take the metal, and that they had covered the lights with cardboard because they didn’t want to bother the neighbors while they were working.
“The officer didn’t buy it,” Detective Sgt. Bryan Cunningham said.
Upon investigation, police learned that the homeowners had not given the men permission to take the metal.
Lawrence was charged on Monday with the theft of scrap metal. The other men in the home have not yet been charged, Cunningham said.
There has got to be more consequences for these thieves when caught or it will just continue. If they weren’t such low-life dirt-bags, then maybe someone would hire them and they could earn an honest living!
They’ll work harder stealing somebody else’s property than if they went out and got a job. Only problem is their welfare checks would dry up and stop coming. It’s easier to be a thief and suckle off the government teat at our expense.
The thefts, strong-arm holdups, breaking and entering, home invasions, car jackings, random assaults, spousal abuse, threats, murders, hit and runs, arsons, rapes…all in a days work for law enforcement to investigate in Maine or any state.
Drugs and the economy- plus poor up-bringing- cause most of this. We have to live with these miscreants.
Protect yourself somehow. If you don’t favor a firearm, get some pepper spray or long-shot wasp and hornet spray. State and municipal budgets are stretched. It’s time to have more citizen patrols and neighbors who see and hear what is happening.