FAIRFIELD — A Benton man suspected in several Waterville property crimes has been charged with robbery and theft in connection with crimes in Fairfield, including a daylight robbery of a Main Street business last month.
Fairfield police Chief Tom Gould said Wednesday that his department charged Jacob Kerby, 22, of Bangor Road, Benton, last week with a class A count of robbery, three class C counts of theft and two class D counts of burglary of a motor vehicle.
Officers charged Kerby with the crimes Thursday at the Kennebec County jail, two days after he was arrested in Waterville in connection with a home break-in on Matthews Avenue.
The robbery charge is related to the hold-up of Casey’s Redemption Center on Main Street, according to Gould. In that crime, a man wearing a dark blue raincoat and a red mask made off with an undisclosed amount of cash from the store.
After the robbery, people in the neighborhood surrounding the store told Officer Shanna Blodgett they had seen Kerby after he left the store, Gould said. No weapons were involved in the robbery, but physical force was used, Gould said.
The theft and burglary charges against Kerby stem from two motor vehicle break-ins in the recent past. Near the end of September, a vehicle parked outside of Leaps N’ Bounds gymnastics center on U.S. Route 201 was broken into and a pocketbook with cash and personal items was stolen, Gould said.
On Oct. 5, another vehicle was broken into in the parking lot of the Somerset Auction Co. on U.S. Route 201 in Shawmut, and a number of items were taken, although Gould didn’t know what the items were. That robbery was caught on surveillance video, which led Blodgett to the vehicle involved in the robbery, Gould said. During the investigation into the Casey’s robbery, Blodgett came across information that Kerby was involved in other crimes and rolled them into the case, Gould said.
“She did an amazing job,” he said.
Through her investigation, Blodgett got a search warrant for a residence in Benton where Kerby was believed to be staying and recovered some items, including property of a Winslow resident, Gould said.
Aside from a few credit cards, the stolen property has not been recovered, Gould said.
Waterville police also suspect Kerby in a number of South End motor vehicle thefts this summer. He has multiple prior convictions including two counts of assault in 2011, counts of criminal trespass and theft in 2014 and another count of theft in 2015, according to Waterville police.
Peter McGuire — 861-9239
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