FARMINGTON – Two men have been charged with burglarizing a pawnshop and taking firearms, jewelry and other items, Farmington Detective Marc Bowering said.
Jean-Paul Poulain, 60, of Augusta, and Nicholas Osgood, 21, of East Dixfield, are facing burglary and theft charges, Bowering said Friday.
Bowering investigated the break-in at Greenlaw’s Collectibles and Pawn on Farmington Falls Road after the owner discovered his shop ransacked Tuesday morning.
Intruders forced their way in through a back door sometime Monday night, Bowering said.
They smashed glass on two display cases in the shop and “busted into a locked gun cabinet,” he said. They left with seven rifles and pistols, jewelry, knives, collectible football cards and other items. The store owner estimated the stolen merchandise to be worth between $10,000 and $15,000.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Augusta police used a search warrant for Poulain’s residence on an unrelated crime and discovered one of the stolen firearms. Its serial number had been entered into a national crime information system by Bowering the previous day.
After receiving a list of stolen items from Bowering, police in Augusta searched a second residence where they found another of the stolen guns and a substantial amount of cocaine.
Other information received Wednesday led police to an undisclosed location in Lewiston on Thursday, where they discovered the remaining stolen firearms and most of the missing merchandise, Bowering said.
Augusta and Farmington police collaborated with agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the investigation.
“Getting the firearms into (the national crime information computer) early” was instrumental in solving the crime, Bowering said.
Farmington police charged both Poulain and Osgood with Class B burglary, and Augusta law enforcement authorities charged them with receiving stolen property. They are being held in Kennebec County Jail; Poulain on $2,000 cash bail or $20,000 surety, Osgood on $5,000 cash or $25,000 surety.
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