By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

WALES – An Auburn man was behind bars Thursday night, accused in a string of thefts from stores in a half-dozen cities.

Investigators from the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office and other departments charged 51-year-old Brian Foster with six counts of theft of items ranging from a cup of coffee to a snowmobile.

Police said Foster began earlier this week taking items from stores in Lewiston, Auburn, Wales, Freeport, South Portland and Kittery.

Sheriff’s officials got involved in the investigation Tuesday, when a caller from Reggie’s Kawasaki and Ski-Doo in Wales reported a man had made off with a snowmobile and trailer.

In that case, police say Foster used trickery to make off with the goods.

Androscoggin County Detective William Gagne said Foster walked into Reggie’s and told employees there that he was the owner of a Yamaha snowmobile and trailer at the store. He provided the proper name and claimed he was there to pick up the machine he had paid for days earlier, police said.

Gagne said Foster was smooth enough to convince store employees that he was the rightful owner of the equipment. However, the same employees later wondered about the man’s story and called police.

“They thought there was something sort of strange about it,” Gagne said. “They took down his license plate number.”

Police ran the plate number and immediately alerted area departments to be on the lookout for Foster. They also learned that the same man was wanted in connection with the thefts of a pair of jackets from Harleys-R-Us, a motorcycle shop in Lewiston.

Sheriff’s officials went to Foster’s home at 41 Chicoine Ave., where Gagne said the snowmobile and trailer were found in the yard. Foster was questioned about the theft and taken to Central Maine Medical Center for an existing medical condition, police said.

Gagne said Foster left the hospital and walked a block to a Big Apple store, where he stole a cup of coffee. A day later, a caller from Reggie’s reported that they had discovered a riding helmet missing.

Police went back Foster’s home with a search warrant and found the $400 helmet inside, Gagne said. The detective said Foster quickly admitted to a string of thefts that took him all over the southern part of the state.

“He admitted he had committed some other thefts that day, as far away as Kittery,” Gagne said.

Police said Foster has been linked to thefts from the Kittery Trading Post, from Sears at the Maine Mall in South Portland, from L.L. Bean in Freeport and from Wal-Mart in Auburn, in addition to the thefts in Lewiston and Wales.

“He’s facing multiple counts right now,” Gagne said.

The detective said police have recovered stolen items, such as tools and clothes, which were taken during the spree. He was working with investigators from other cities as they prepared to present their case to a grand jury.

“This wasn’t just one officer working the case. All the agencies worked together to put the pieces together,” Gagne said. “It’s really been a team effort.”

On Thursday night, Foster was being held at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn on $5,000 cash bail.