CARIBOU, Maine — Two New Sweden residents were charged with felony theft Tuesday after allegedly stealing money from a donation container gathering cash to benefit veterans.
Scott Long, 39, and Maranda Mancos, 30, were charged after an investigation that began last month.
Caribou Police Chief Mike Gahagan said Tuesday evening that the investigation began after police were called to the Maine Veterans Home in Caribou on Nov. 26.
Gahagan said police received a complaint that someone had taken a donation container that had been sitting in the lobby. The money was going into a Christmas fund to benefit the residents.
Though he did not specify what information led them to the suspects, Gahagan said the investigation prompted the officers to file charges against the two former Caribou residents. Police say Long and Mancos went to the facility on the premise of visiting a resident and left after the alleged theft.
An undisclosed amount of money was taken and has not been recovered.
Long and Mancos have prior criminal histories, which Gahagan said raised the theft to felony level.
Both will be arraigned on Jan. 25, 2013.
Officer Mark Gahagan is the investigating officer.
Long also was in the news recently after his daughter Jasmine Long, 11, suffered extensive burns in an accident on Nov. 11. Scott Long said he awoke in his apartment in Caribou to his daughter’s screams and ran into the kitchen and found the T-shirt and sweatshirt she was wearing on fire.
The girl was transferred to the Shriners Hospital in Boston for continued treatment of second degree burns to her torso and arms.
Scott Long said a few days later that the family wasn’t sure how the accident happened, but that his daughter possibly was playing with a bottle of hairspray close to an ignition source.
Efforts to get an update on the girl’s condition in the last couple of weeks have been unsuccessful.
SCUM!!!
Total Scum. Scum is too good a word actually. What these two are can’t be written down on here without being censored.
Stealing from elderly veterans at Christmas….it doesn’t get much lower than this.
The only thing lower is crimes against children.
There is a special place in hell for people who hurt older folks.
Hopefully they will find a special place on earth for them as well.
where are all the people preaching for his innocence in the original story, Lol. hey accidents happen, but stealing from donation boxes probably doesn’t just happen, thats a clear decision to steal from those less fortune who actually served our country with their lives. i know swedes be bored with nothing but trees and such but come on lol.
Ease up on the guy.
His daughter almost got burnt up.
My heart breaks for that little girl. However, that does not excuse what they did.
Does it appear that he is hiding something on this burn incident? Are we sure it was an accident? I don’t know I haven’t followed the burn story. First
I’ve heard of it.
I know a couple of vets that would get this scumbag’s attitude adjusted
in short order.
Well then he should have set up his own donation jar for her and not steal the veterans money.
Maranda ia a busy girl, got a year in jail in 2011.
Two more members of the lower than a snake club!! Losers!
When I saw the pictures of them I knew I had seen the girl Maranda somewhere before but can’t put a finger on where.. Reguardless, Stealing from the elderlly. How low .. They need to be punnished..