Four men were arrested on Sunday after police say they broke into a vacant home in Lebanon to steal copper.
Property managers discovered the burglary at the Carl Broggi Highway house when the four men were allegedly in the process of stripping it of copper pipes, according to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Two men were allegedly found inside the house, one hiding in a shed and another in the woods behind the house, according to McCausland.
The copper piping had been removed from the property and a TV, household items and furniture from the house had been placed in the garage ready for removal, McCausland said.
McCausland said entry was made into the house through a rear door, and the house, which has been foreclosed on and is owned by a bank, sustained water damage from the cut pipes. Most of the piping was taken from the house’s basement, he said.
Cody Mros, 32, of South Berwick; William Kimball, 36, of Lebanon; Shawn Sullivan, 48, of Union, New Hampshire; and Benjamin Foster, 35, of Rochester, New Hampshire, were charged with burglary, McCausland said.
The four men were still at the property when troopers arrived, and two of the men gave false names and two were in possession of drug paraphernalia, McCausland said.
The damage to the house is expected to be several thousand dollars, according to McCausland.