CRANBERRY ISLES, Maine — Four men have been charged with a total of more than 40 criminal counts in connection with a daylong spree of thefts and break-ins last fall on two islands, according to police.
Lt. Tim Cote of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department said last week that one of the men became a suspect in three burglaries on Sutton Island after he was connected to the theft on the same day of a boat in nearby Seal Harbor. That man, Michael Philippon of Ellsworth, also later was found to have posted photos he took inside one victim’s house to his Instagram account, the lieutenant said.
“That certainly helped,” Cote said of seeing evidence to crimes posted on the online photo-sharing social service.
Philippon, 23, is facing 11 total criminal charges stemming from the Oct. 25, 2015, break-ins on Sutton Island, which is part of the town of Cranberry Isles and has only a seasonal, summertime population.
Harry Larrabee, 18, of Bowdoin, and Jack V. Mendoza, 23, of Bangor, also are each facing the same 11 charges — three counts of burglary, three counts of criminal trespass, three counts of theft by unauthorized taking and two counts of criminal mischief. A fourth man, Sammuel W.E. Larrabee, 18, of Ellsworth, is facing seven total charges. It couldn’t be determined Tuesday whether the Larrabees are related.
According to Hancock County District Attorney Matthew Foster, Sammuel Larrabee was with the others on Sutton Island but is alleged to have participated in only two of the three break-ins.
According to documents filed with the Hancock County Unified Criminal Court, the three men that each face 11 charges are accused of using water and electricity at two of the homes and of “damaging or destroying the water and/or electrical supply systems” at one of those same homes.
They also are accused of stealing alcoholic beverages from one of those two homes and of breaking a bathroom window and a front door at a third house and stealing a box of macaroni from that home. Sammuel Larrabee, who is facing two counts of burglary, two counts of criminal trespass, two counts of theft by unauthorized taking and one count of criminal mischief, is not charged with any crimes related to the third house, court documents indicate.
The men are believed to have traveled out to Sutton Island in a skiff they took from the town pier in Seal Harbor. Seal Harbor is part of the town of Mount Desert on Mount Desert Island.
The investigation into the boat theft brought Philippon and Harry Larrabee to the attention of police in Mount Desert before the Sutton Island burglaries were reported, according to officials.
On Oct. 25, the owner of the skiff noticed it was missing from the pier in Seal Harbor and called local police, according to Sgt. Leigh Guildford of the Mount Desert Police Department. That evening, the boat owner noticed the skiff had been returned and notified police again.
In between those two calls, Guildford said, he went to the pier and decided to write down the license plate number of the one vehicle that was parked there. He later contacted the owner of the vehicle, who happened to be Philippon’s mother, he said.
Philippon initially denied knowing anything about the boat’s temporary disappearance, according to Guildford, but later he and Harry Larrabee admitted they had taken it. The skiff had an outboard motor mounted on its stern but, because they did not have an ignition key, they rowed the boat to Sutton Island, more than a mile away, and later rowed it back, the officer said.
Both men were charged with, and later pleaded guilty to, misdemeanor theft by unauthorized taking, according to court documents. Neither men received jail time, but Philippon was ordered to pay a $400 fine and Harry Larrabee had to pay a $250 fine, court documents indicate. Guildford said the boat was not damaged in the incident.
According to Foster, this boat theft was investigated and adjudicated before police made the connection between it and the break-ins on Sutton Island, but officials now believe all four defendants were in the boat when it went missing from Seal Harbor on Oct. 25.
Foster said the severity of the crimes they face in connection with the Sutton Island break-ins, some of which are felonies, outweigh the sentences Philippon and Harry Larrabee received for using the boat without permission.
The prosecutor said Philippon led the trip out to the island, telling the three others that the entire island was owned by his family. It was only after they allegedly starting breaking into houses on the island that he told his companions that this was not the case, he added.
The quartet is due to appear in court on April 15 for a dispositional conference, Foster said.
