WATERVILLE, Maine — Four juveniles are facing multiple felony charges after they heavily damaged a Pine Street home during the course of a month, according to police.
The suspects are two boys, 14 and 15, and two girls, 13 and 14, whose names Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey could not release because of their ages. They are accused of Class B felony burglary and Class C aggravated criminal mischief, Rumsey said Thursday.
The homeowner primarily lives in Massachusetts but stays at the home when visiting friends and relatives in the Elm City. Around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, he arrived to find his house in shambles, according to Rumsey.
“This appeared to have been damage done for the sake of doing damage,” Rumsey said, noting the man was not a target.
The homeowner had been out of town for about a month, according to Rumsey, and his home had apparently not been checked on by a friend who typically fulfills those duties when the man is away.
Rumsey said the teens entered the house through an unlocked door and had done damage multiple times in the last month.
When Waterville police Officer Dennis Picard canvassed the scene on Wednesday morning, he found extensive damage, Rumsey said.
“The interior of the home was absolutely devastated,” Rumsey said, noting that there was broken glass, damaged appliances, broken picture frames and holes in walls.
The home had between $10,000 and $15,000 in damage, Rumsey said.
Picard conducted interviews throughout the neighborhood after canvassing the scene and talking to the homeowner, and was able to positively identify the four suspects, according to Rumsey.
The juveniles were not arrested, but are scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 12 to face the charges, Rumsey said. They are in the custody of their parents.
Nothing was taken from the home, and Rumsey said the suspects have no criminal records.
“Theft was not a motivation,” Rumsey said. “This was something as far as Picard can tell was done out of boredom.”
And, their parents?
will be footing the bill for the repairs.
It the parents are lucky, they have home insurance and the company won’t turn down the claims.
Unlocked door is an invitation. Where were those teens parents at the time of the Trashings? The Parents and Teens should be held responsible for all repairs and then should, if a Judge would do so, be told to Do Community Volunteer for no less than one year , parents and teens both. ‘Bored”, those kids need a serious Attitude Adjustment and their parent or parents should create curfews.
It’s always Waterville.
“was done out of boredom.””
welcome to Maine.
Regardless if a door was left unlocked or not, these teens had not been invited inside. I shudder to think what my parents would have done to me if I had let myself into another person’s home & trashed it. The police would have been the least of my worries! This scenario is becoming all too common. Perhaps physical labor would help them burn off their excess energy. The sad part is that these kids have no way to pay for the damage & I’m thinking their parents won’t have that much extra cash to pay for the damage, so now what? This unfortunate home owner is going to have to file an insurance claim & after a hefty deductible try to pay for it himself. Ultimately we all pay for little jerks like this is the form of higher insurance rates, taxes to pay for increased police patrols, etc. When is Maine going to stop slapping stupid people on the hand and put an end to this sort of thing?
Bored, well now, have them go in and start cleaning the mess they created. They can learn a trade by helping repair the damages as well as work of restitution for the damages
Hope his Allstate policy is all caught up. Why’d he take off for a month and leave a door unlocked anyhow? Yeah, all the usual hoohaw will apply: The Parents! The Lids! The Cops! The Breakdown Of Morals In American Society! Might even squeeze the latest Mayan Calendar story in there too. Couldn’t really pin-down why with any fact and accuracy, but stuff like this has happened now and then since I was that age. Some sort of hormone-fired mob mentality.
Install an ADT Pulse system BEFORE someone breaks in or vandalizes.