OAKLAND — A man and two juveniles are facing criminal charges following a string of burglaries at local businesses and schools, police said.
And the charges against the 37-year-old man came thanks to tips authorities received after a pair of posts on social media.
Break-ins were discovered July 29 at Messalonskee High School, Early Bird Restaurant, Oakland House of Pizza and the American Legion. Then, another burglary occurred on Monday at the Atwood Primary School.
“We had all those burglaries in the span of almost a week,” said Deputy Chief Rick Stubbert of the Oakland Police Department. “They hit quite a few businesses. It’s still under investigation, and other charges may follow.”
Arrested and charged in connection with all five incidents was a 17-year-old juvenile, who was not identified by police because of his age. The teenager was charged with five counts of burglary, one count of aggravated criminal mischief and five counts of theft, according to Stubbert.
In addition, another juvenile was issued a summons on a charge of burglary, theft and criminal mischief related to the break-in at the Atwood school.
An adult — Drew Roy, 37, of Oakland — was arrested Wednesday night and charged in connection with the burglaries at the high school, Early Bird Restaurant and Oakland House of Pizza. He faces three counts of burglary, three counts of theft and one count of aggravated criminal mischief.
Roy was released on $6,000 unsecured bail after his arrest in Fairfield, which Stubbert said was aided by tips police received from the public after posting on Facebook. On July 30, police posted surveillance images showing a man in a baseball hat walking away with items during one of the burglaries. On Wednesday morning, police followed up with a post identifying Roy as the suspect and asking for help finding him.
Oakland and Fairfield police worked together to locate him in Fairfield on Wednesday night.
“The tips helped,” Stubbert said.
Both of the juveniles charged by police attend Messalonskee High School, according to Carl Gartley, superintendent of Oakland-based Regional School Unit 18. Gartley said the monetary damages at the high school will total in the thousands of dollars. Several windows inside the building were broken, the door to the Boosters snack shack was broken down and small items were taken from desks.
“They were in the building for several hours, so actually we were very fortunate more damage wasn’t done,” Gartley said. “There was surprisingly very little we could identify that was stolen.”
Gartley said the school has temporary replacements for the vandalized portions of the building and is obtaining quotes for permanent fixes.
At the Atwood school, there was less damage: An old window was pried open, and cash and items were taken from desks and filing cabinets, Gartley said.
“It’s just sad, because our students are so good and have such good reputations, that one of these gives us a bad name, and that’s not what we’re about,” Gartley said. “It is very unusual. Kids do silly things sometimes, but malicious behavior is not the norm for what we see of kids in our schools, which is why it’s so unsettling. It’s not a good feeling, and we’re anxious to get the kids back to school and to do good things.”
Although the juveniles attend Messalonskee, Gartley said he was unaware of any connection Roy has to the schools. The superintendent said school officials would look at their policies and the legal outcome when assessing repercussions for the students and would try to make any possible discipline educational.
“Our goal is to educate all kids but still keep a safe and orderly environment,” he said.
Gartley also said the incidents highlight for him the benefit of having an open and helpful local police department.
“I can’t say enough about the good job they did being sensitive to our students, keeping us informed,” Gartley said. “We are very fortunate to have an open police department; they are stellar.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
