ELLSWORTH, Maine — Two youngsters were charged with criminal mischief after allegedly breaking into an electrical outlet at the city library so they could charge their cellphones.
The 17-year-old boys, from Ellsworth and Eastbrook, were issued summonses on Tuesday after the Ellsworth Police Department reviewed security footage taken at the back entrance to Ellsworth Public Library.
According to Detective Dotty Small, the boys used bolt cutters to remove a padlock and hasp to gain access to the outdoor outlet just before midnight on Sunday. Small said the outlet cover had been similarly removed two weeks earlier and that it cost the library about $25 to fix each time.
Small said she spoke with the two boys Tuesday.
“They needed to charge their phone to make a call,” she said. “They realize it was a poor choice and they’re very sorry they did it.”
Small had posted photos of the two suspects on Facebook, looking for help from the community to identify the boys. Once their identities, and ages, were known, she took the photos down.
“They’re both juveniles, that’s why I took down the photos and did not release their names,” she wrote on Tuesday.
Criminal mischief is a Class D misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days imprisonment and a $2,000 fine.
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Ayuh
Are they afraid that someone is going to hook an extension cord to their house to steal power?
Child proof safety caps would have foiled them.
A short stint in the Irving “washroom” probably would have solved the charging issue without the need for bolt cutters. Those should be used for those day old scones and donuts.
A dead cell phone battery does no one any good……
According to the EPD FB page, these 2 youths turned themselves in to the police, had already purchased a new lock, apologized, know what they did was wrong, and are ready to face their punishment.
It does not make what they did right, but hopefully their remorse and immediate action to try to rectify what they’ve done means we won’t read about them over and over again.