Eight more downtown break-ins reported in Bangor

BANGOR, Maine — An additional eight burglaries in the city’s downtown — all reported early Monday — have been added to a list of seven reported over the last month at the Coe Building on Main Street, Bangor police Lt. Tim Reid said Tuesday.

Police responded to a “report of multiple burglaries at 96 Harlow St.,” said the lieutenant, who leads the department’s criminal investigation division.

The first call from the Smyrna Building on Harlow Street was made to police about 7:40 a.m. Monday and the last was made about 10:20 a.m. Four businesses reported thefts and damage to doors or windows, Reid said.

Whether the two burglary sprees at the Coe Building and Harlow Street are related is part of the ongoing investigation, the lieutenant said.

“Simply from the proximity — they may be related,” he said, adding that no arrests have been made.

Four of the eight reported business burglaries on Harlow Street involved Healing House Counseling, Maine Pretrial Services Inc., B&L Properties and Bangor Family Counseling. Three had front doors that were forced open, and a broken hallway window gave the burglars access to Bangor Family Counseling on the third floor.

More than $100 in cash was stolen from Healing House, computer equipment was taken from Maine Pretrial Services, cash and electronic equipment were taken from B&L and snack food was taken from Bangor Family Counseling.

The building, which is located across the street from Peirce Park, does not have video surveillance, but police are checking surveillance images taken from other nearby buildings, Reid said.

Four offices located in the Coe Building, located between Columbia and Main streets, were burglarized over the weekend. Among them were Pulse Marketing Agency and Hometown Newspapers LLC, which both reported the theft of equipment valued at $4,000.

“It was determined that two businesses were gone through but reported nothing missing,” police Sgt. Paul Edwards said Monday.

Damage inside the Coe Building was estimated at $2,000, the sergeant said. The four weekend break-ins brought the total to seven reported in the last month.

Northstar Photography on Columbia Street was broken into last week and $3,800 worth of equipment was taken. The Sweetest Thing Studio, also on on Columbia Street, was broken into four weeks ago and lost about $4,000 in equipment and cash.

The other burglaries were reported to Paul Cook, owner of Maine Real Estate Management, which manages the Coe Building.

“I’ve also had issues at 21 Main St. [an office building] with vandalism and burglary and I know both the Aware Center [on 61 Main St.] and Antique Marketplace and Cafe [65 Main St.] have had burglaries,” he has said.

The burglars appear to be targeting portable electronic equipment such as laptops, iPads and cameras, as well as cash, the Coe Building victims reported.

Police are still investigating how the burglar or burglars got into the Coe Building, Edwards said.

Police are not sure how access to the building was gained, the sergeant said. “Once you get in there, there is unlimited access to the rest of the building,” he noted.

One avenue under investigation is whether the roof was used, Edwards said.

“You can bounce like Spiderman between the buildings,” the sergeant said.

Anyone with information about the burglaries is urged to call the Bangor Police Department at 947-7382. The department’s anonymous tip line can be reached by pressing extension 6.