An Augusta man who allegedly stole seafood, alcohol, a Bose radio and money from a Whitefield restaurant where he used to work was arrested Tuesday on charges of burglary and violating conditions of release.
The items — including a cash register, $200 in cash, a checkbook, credit cards, the radio and numerous drinks and food items — were reported stolen from Aunt Gin’s restaurant on Augusta Road in Whitefield, according to a Wednesday news release from Sgt. Ronald Rollins, of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
Police charged John F. Dumas, 51, with the burglary after discovering many of the stolen items at his home on Divided Road in Augusta, Rollins said. They took Dumas to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset without incident.
Dumas told investigating deputies that he had stolen the items and accused the owners of Aunt Gin’s of denying his unemployment benefits, Rollins said.
Dumas used to work at Aunt Gin’s as a chef, and he is also a cousin of one of its co-owners, Steven Dumas.
But Steven Dumas and another co-owner, Wyatt Shorey, said Dumas left his job in early November and only recently applied to the state of Maine for unemployment benefits — then blamed them when his application was unsuccessful.
“They denied him because he walked out (on the job),” Shorey said. “He was very angry, but we have no say over that. This really kind of threw us. We really didn’t think he would go this far. We expected legal trouble, maybe him getting a lawyer, but neither of us expected this.”
Police were able to recover most of the missing items, but not the credit card or the checkbook, which they say Dumas destroyed. The food in his possession included scallops, shrimp, corn, ribeye steak and hamburger, as well as bottles of alcohol, Rollins said.
The total value of the theft was $1,500 to $2,000, Shorey said.
The restaurateurs said they discovered the break-in when they arrived at work Tuesday morning.
They thought someone had broken through the back door the night before, and they also noticed fresh snowmobile tracks leading up to that door. John Dumas frequently traveled from his home in Augusta to the Whitefield restaurant using a snowmobile and trails, Shorey said.
Dumas was out on bail for a conviction in October 2016 on charges of operating under the influence and operating after revocation, and police also charged him with violating conditions of release, Rollins said.
Police seized the snowmobile that they say Dumas used, as well as a firearm, which Dumas was not allowed to possess because he is a convicted felon, Rollins said.
The Maine Warden Service and the Augusta Police Department assisted with the investigation, and more charges may be filed, depending on the outcome of an ongoing investigation, according to Rollins.
Charles Eichacker — 621-5642
Twitter: @ceichacker
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