Maine

String of Burglaries Under Investigation in Portland Area

Another string of a dozen burglaries has hit small businesses in the area of Portland, Maine.

This summer, police arrested at least one suspect for 15 burglaries. Now, there have been at least 15 more.

Once again, the burglaries are happening at small businesses, with suspects primarily taking cash.

Adam Powers, co-owner of Elsmere Barbecue, says his business was robbed last Wednesday with thieves taking "well over hundreds" of dollars in cash and "ransacking" an office.

Some of that cash was meant for a local non-profit as part of a regular charity effort the restaurant holds.

"They didn't just steal from us, they stole from the community," said Powers.

The thefts are still happening.

According to Portland Police Lt. Robert Martin, the latest burglary was at a warehouse in the city overnight Wednesday into Thursday.

Martin actually responded to the call himself, but says the suspect "fled" because police were not called early enough.

That's even happened at other burglary scenes, where the burglars disabled security systems and owners were alerted.

"You have to call us right away," he said. "A lot of times what [business owners] are doing is telling their alarm companies to hold their response until they can watch video footage ... That delays our response."

Martin says the public can help, too, by looking for broken windows and can contact local police in greater Portland if they have information.

He also says anyone convicted in the burglaries may face multiple years of jail time.

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