EXETER, Maine — Five vehicles and four homes in Exeter and another vehicle in Stetson were burglarized between midnight and 5 a.m. Thursday, police said.
“It certainly was a spree,” said Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. William Sheehan. “Residents were home at the time some of the houses were burglarized and some residences were unoccupied at the time. There are some people who are extremely frightened, knowing people broke into their homes and were inside when they were present.”
Sheehan said Deputy Ed Toulouse is the primary officer on the case, which two detectives and three deputies are currently working on through the department’s Criminal Investigative Division. The sheriff’s department is also working with Maine State Police on the case.
“We’re actively working the investigation and have recovered some property already, but any help that can be provided by the public would be greatly appreciated,” Sheehan said.
While all of the vehicles burglarized were unlocked, some of the homes were locked and still broken into.
“Deputy Toulouse first got called out at 5 a.m. yesterday [Thursday] for a motor vehicle burglary and as he started investigating, we discovered more and more of them,” said Sheehan.
The vehicles and homes affected were on Greenbush Road in Exeter and Stetson Road in Stetson. Sheehan wouldn’t specify what kind of items were taken other than to confirm that valuables and money were stolen.
“We’re not sure if it’s one suspect or multiple suspects, but we believe there was a motor vehicle involved,” said Sheehan.
Sheehan said there has been a noticeable surge in burglaries — home and vehicle — over the last few years.
“Definitely, we’re seeing that. This has been going on much more often the last few years,” Sheehan said. “Burglaries have really skyrocketed.”
Sheehan said Corinna, in particular, has seen an uncharacteristic increase.
“The last few weeks it’s been a hotbed for burglaries, and the Greenbush Road connects Corinna to Exeter,” he said.
He said the nature of the burglaries seems to be changing as well.
“It used to be one group would come in, clean house, and you’d catch them and that would be it,” Sheehan explained. “Now it seems like there are so many groups of people out there committing burglaries. And usually it’s multijurisdictional and crossing county lines.”
Anyone who might have information regarding the burglaries is asked to call tips into Penobscot Regional Communications Center at 945-4636 or leave them online at http://www.penobscot-sheriff.net/comments.htm. Tips can be made anonymously either way.
Seems like there has been a crime wave since the reelection.
It is a miracle that one of these dirtbags has not been blown away.
or is it a shame? Maybe that would have ended the “spree”.
Yes. That too.
Time for someone to take a night-time snooze in the back seat of the SUV with a couple of friends……S & W…..
Since when was looking for stuff in one occupied home at night considered a ‘home invasion spree?
Getting careless with the headlines, BDN…
You clearly only read the headline then ..
I read the whole thing..
Entering an empty home is B+E, and taking something while there is a burglary. Even if the people are asleep, it’s a B+E in the night time.
Busting in on people and detaining them with a weapon or tying them up is a home invasion. While they feel they have been invaded, I didn’t really see anything under the headline to warrant its wording.
That’s not so. If a member of the household is at home when someone breaks into the house, that’s home invasion (“an act or instance of entering an occupied residence with the intent to commit a burglary or other crime,” says the Random House Dictionary of the English Language), regardless of whether the householders were detained or, in fact, interacted with the perpetrators at all. You could be upstairs, they could stay downstairs the whole time and never even realize you were at home, but if you were home it was still a home invasion. (It’s burglary in either case if the people who broke in also took things.)
Hmmm.
My New Oxford doesn’t have it, so I went to the standby “Wiki’ While it varies by area:
“Home invasion differs from burglary in having a violent intent, specific or general, much the same way as aggravated robbery—personally taking from someone by force—is differentiated from mere larceny (theft alone). As the term becomes more frequently used, particularly by the media, “home invasion” is evolving to identify a particular class of crime that involves multiple perpetrators (two or more); forced entry into a home; occupants who are home at the time of the invasion; use of weapons and physical intimidation; property theft; and victims who are unknown to the perpetrators.”
As “violence” and “forceful taking” seems to be the criteria for NY and Boston reporting, I’ll stick to my definition. :)
Do we really want to go by what Wikipedia thinks the news media thinks words mean? I’m skeptical. Lacking a copy of the full OED to check, I’m content to stay with the Random House def. (Or, if you prefer the American Heritage Dictionary, “Burglary of a dwelling while the residents are at home.”)
Anyway, just out of curiosity, I searched for the phrase “home invasion” on the Maine Legislature’s statutes database and came up empty, so it appears it has no definition in current Maine law. Burglary is burglary regardless of whether somebody was at home, and any interactions that may happen between householders who were at home and the burglars would be covered by other existing laws.
It said that the term is becoming more commonly used, particularly by the media, and not defined by.
The Feds don’t have a legal definition yet, but several States do. I’ll take Wiki on this long before I will accept a simplistic 8 word definition. Maine doesn’t, but if you want to see other State’s definitions, there’s a list of ’em on Wiki :)
Anyway, since there was only one case of burglary with people at home, I still say that “spree of home invasions” is more than misleading. Me having said that is what got this whole thing going anyway.
Pathetic little dirtbags…what they refuse to work for, they will take.
Meth, bath salts or Oxys? I’m voting for meth — only one of the three that’d make these sleazers wide awake and functioning all night. Otherwise, don’t keep stuff worth stealing in the car and lock the house at bed time. Simplest options other than sitting on the porch with a load of 00 buckshot
The criminals are most likely aware of who they are taking from. I have actually called the cops twice for vehicles sitting right off to the side of my driveway before and a couple weeks ago I saw two vehicles sitting in the roadway off to the side in front of a neighbors house (whom was not home) when I come down through they scurried pretty quick. People staking things out I am not sure. But if you know your neighbors, keep an eye and ear open for any strange activity, one of these days they are going to come across the wrong person(s).
monson has been hit with grafitti lately…the green saints?
The criminals are most likely aware of who they are taking from. I have actually called the cops twice for vehicles sitting right off to the side of my driveway before and a couple weeks ago I saw two vehicles sitting in the roadway off to the side in front of a neighbors house (whom was not home) when I come down through they scurried pretty quick. People staking things out I am not sure. But if you know your neighbors, keep an eye and ear open for any strange activity, one of these days they are going to come across the wrong person(s).
HOW DO YOU FIGURE THAT?
ive been through it
Maine has the highest per capita rate of homeowner gun ownership.
With all the burglaries and home invasions looks like criminals could care less about homeowners owing guns, doesnt it now
The point being: home owners that own guns is overrated as a deterrent to crimes. …just saying
Citation on the per capita stat?
The ratings keep changing year to year.
Nevertheless, the point is: if you own a home and own a gun—–IT DOES NOT SCARE OFF THE CRIMINALS
Maine: 2nd highest gun ownership in nation
democraticunderground.com
MAINE~HIGHEST GUN OWNERSHIP
http://www.northeastshooters.com/
Not with junkies, no.
it will make news when a home owner shoots one of these crooks,and the media laments the shooting of an unarmed teenager who “was turning his life around”
Baloney!! 1-2-&-3
Wyoming (59.7%)
Alaska (57.8%)
Montana (57.7%)
If they recovered some property doesn’t that mean they know who did this or who they are giving/selling the stolen property to? What do these punks look like?