BELFAST, Maine — A man turned himself in to police Tuesday morning after game camera photos of him stealing a trunkload of firewood from an Oak Hill Road residence were released to the media the previous day.
Robert Porter, 47, of Belfast, was identified by his brother, who called to tell him that police were looking for him, according to Detective Sgt. Bryan Cunningham of the Belfast Police Department.
Porter, who had been released from the Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center, has been charged with Class E theft, a misdemeanor crime.
The center is located in the former Waldo County Jail and aims to successfully integrate state and county inmates near the end of their sentences back into their communities. Cunningham said he estimated the value of the stolen firewood to be $500.
Porter told police he had been living in the woods for a while while he was between residences and had spotted the firewood. He said he took wood twice, using it to keep warm.
After the first theft, the owner of the wood alerted police to the theft and officers set up a black-and-white game camera, which snapped photographs of Porter at the woodpile at the end of August.
But police had a hard time identifying the man from the grainy, black-and-white photos, none of which showed his face, and that is why they reached out for the public’s help, Cunningham said.
Two trunk loads of firewood worth $500.00? Really? What was it Birdseye Maple?
it was made of gold,,lol
Wow, two trunk loads of wood worth $500?? Absolutely no way…….Crazy……
Maybe he was stealing those little bundles of crap wood people set out on the side of the road to sell to tourists and whoever at 10 bucks or so a bundle. “Camp Wood For Sale”
I hear you, bought a load split and delivered 220 for a cord…Tinkersville cabin will be warm, I see Tinkersville was on that map of the drug bust article..OMG
I just bought some Downeast for 275 a cord cut, split and delivered. I agree with most posters though, if he really took only two trunkloads of wood then it should not have a value of 500 dollars. I think that we are going to see a lot more of this in the next couple of months.
I got mine from a guy in Princeton, same thing split and delivered 220.00, and he gives you a full cord…. I guess they figure some people will believe 2 trunk loads are worth 500 bucks..
Sometimes when folks are released from a prison or jail, they have no place to go. Without a place to live, no phone, it can be hard to find a steady job, and things decline from there, to a point where it is almost impossible to exist without doing something illegal, usually stealing. I am NOT supporting what he did, just trying to point out why he might have done something that seems so stupid so soon after release. Hopefully a deal can be reached where he can work off his debt to the homeowner or something like that.
Most people are reasonably compassionate when they encounter someone down on their luck. Likely if he had simply told the woodowner of his situation the owner would’ve either told him to take a couple trunkloads or made a deal with him for some work.
I totally agree. That is what I love most about my adopted state. Once, when I was out of firewood, and had no oil, a neighbor took a chain saw to a tree trunk, (on a freezing cold day), then split what he could get into manageable chunks and stacked them on my front deck. When my husband died suddenly, his wake was at the height of a blizzard. His funeral the next day, saw a couple of feet of snow on the ground, but our front walk and the path to the stairs had been cleared by a neighbor with a snow-blower. The same neighbor shoveled the front stairs so we could get in and out safely to the funeral.
You make a good point. Sounds to me like a good reason to stay OUT of jail in the first place.
Understood, but it’s not like there’s a shortage of wood in Maine. Get permission and go cut some yourself – there’s no need to be stealing other people’s wood.
I wonder if someone just of jail, and having to live in the woods, has the tools to cut down trees and split wood?
I bet if it was you stole from you, you’d all be singing a different tune.
Looks like another stellar taxpayer program being a huge success….NOT!
Porter, who had been released from the Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center, has been charged with Class E theft, a misdemeanor crime.
The center is located in the former Waldo County Jail and aims to successfully integrate state and county inmates near the end of their sentences back into their communities
He needs to start re-intergrating class all over.
Porter told police he had been living in the woods for a while while he
was between residences and had spotted the firewood. He said he took
wood twice, using it to keep warm.
That’s sad.. Wonder why the brother doesn’t help him get back on his feet …
Probably has tried, only to have stuff stolen. You can only help someone who is willing to help themselves first.
he was helping himself, to other peoples stuff!!
oooh!
Being homeless is a little worse than-“being between residences.” The story did not indicate if he was on his own or if the system still had some watchful eyes. If they didn’t -they should have. Hopefully taking the wood was his only crime during his “integration” back into society. Compared to all of the other crimes reported here daily this guy seems fairly tame and may may have a shot if he gets a place to live and some guidance.
Stealing firewood, …………..in Maine, that, is the lowest of lows. No excuse.
Too bad this man didn’t own an axe. He would have been able to chop down a random tree in the woods and use that for firewood… not steal someone else’s.
Yeah but, the Forestry service would have booked him. I don;t disagree with you’re thought, but damn….stealing is stealing. My random tree is still mine, on my land.
dismiss this case
The Lepage bumper sticker is a nice touch.
look closely Jake…actually an Obama sticker…….but the car may be stolen as well
two trunk loads of fire wood,$500.the sarcasm factor from the fact that police set up a sting operation;priceless.must have been a big trunk or some really good wood.hope speculators don’t drive up the price before winter sets in.
btw if anyone wants to come to by place,i am selling blowdowns for only $100.00 a trunkload,and i’ll load it.I should be able to retire by Christmas :)
People that go to jail aren’t usually known for making wise decisions.
Theft of the firewood is not the only crime being committed here. A cord of wood measures 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet. the price of a cord of wood varies, so lets call it at $250.00. Thats 2 cord of wood for a 500 dollar value. How big was this guy’s trunk. Oh, its also a crime to overinflate the actual value of stolen property.
Must have been estimated by the same guy that values pot plants they find!!!