AUBURN – A Rumford man has admitted to stealing at least six guns from an Auburn weapons store during a March 7 break-in, according to court documents released Wednesday.
Arthur J. Beaver, 22, was in U.S. District Court in Portland on Wednesday charged with theft of firearms and possession of stolen firearms.
Beaver, formerly of Lewiston, was arrested by agents on Tuesday and has been in federal custody since.
Investigators said that shortly after closing time March 7, Beaver used a crowbar to pry the front door open at Reid’s Gun and Cigar Shop on Court Street. At the time, it was believed that 10 guns had been stolen from the store.
Agents from the Central Maine Violent Crime Task Force and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms immediately joined the investigation, according to court records.
On March 22, a task force agent learned from an informant that a man wearing a long black coat had been at a Lewiston bar two days earlier trying to sell nine guns. The man had identified himself as A.J., police said.
Days later, agents learned that the same person had been at a Lewiston home carrying a chrome semiautomatic handgun with a black handle. Police said that man was also known by the name A.J.
In the following days, investigators were given more information about the suspect said to be carrying a variety of guns, including an AK-47, as well as a sword. Police said they learned that A.J. was a name used by Beaver. Investigators were also told that he had returned to Rumford, where he had checked into a motel.
Agents from the task force and the ATF interviewed Beaver at the motel, according to the court documents. After they were given permission to search the room, agents found 10 price tags from Reid’s, a gun, ammunition and gun parts, as well as a sword, police said.
Beaver then led investigators to an Auburn home where six more guns, believed to have been taken in the break-in, were recovered. Police said Beaver later admitted he had sold two of the guns and that he reclaimed those weapons and turned them over to investigators.
Finally, before he was taken into custody, Beaver led police to a relative’s house in Rumford, where he produced the crowbar used in the burglary, according to the affidavit.
In U.S. District Court on Wednesday, prosecutors asked that Beaver be held without bail until his trial. He was approved for a court-appointed lawyer for his next hearing, scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Conviction on the two charges carries a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and fines of $250,000.
Beaver has prior convictions for terrorizing, criminal mischief and sale and use of drug paraphernalia, all in the Rumford area, according to court records.
• Beretta .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol
• Walther .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol
• Walther .765-caliber semiautomatic pistol
• Mauser .765-caliber semiautomatic pistol
• Norrinco 5.56 mm rifle
• Colt 7.62 mm rifle
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