AVON – Three men face felony charges in connection with a burglary at the Avon Mall where more than $5,000 in cash was taken along with about 30 cartons of cigarettes and three bottles of liquor.
The burglary was reported Friday, Aug. 19.
An investigation and several tips to Cpl. Stephen Charles of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department led Charles and Detective David St. Laurent to interview the suspects on Friday, Aug. 26.
They charged Jeremy L. Howard, 18, and Richard S. Haines, 22, both of Eaton Hill Road in Rumford, and Joshua Brann, 18, of Reeds Mills Road in Phillips, with burglary, sheriff’s Lt. Niles Yeaton said Monday.
The three are scheduled to appear Oct. 26, in 12th District Court in Farmington, Yeaton said.
On Aug. 19, after the burglary and theft were reported, county deputies and a state police trooper responded to the mall on Route 4. Sheriff’s Cpl. Nathan Bean and his tracking dog tracked the suspects for about two miles, ending in a very heavily wooded wet area near the airport in Phillips. The search turned up some physical evidence, a press release stated.
More searches of the immediate area and an all-terrain vehicle trail produced additional evidence that was sent to the state crime laboratory for fingerprinting and DNA profiling.
The store was entered when a rear door was pried open.
More than $5,000 in cash was stolen, along with the cigarettes and liquor. The liquor was found inside a nylon bag in the woods behind the store. One of the glass bottles apparently broke when the bag was tossed aside, police said.
After being interviewed, one person admitted committing the burglary and returned what remained of the stolen money, which was minimal, and less than 10 cartons of cigarettes, Charles said Monday.
“They did an outstanding job,” Yeaton said of deputies.
Store owners Kirby and Melonie Ross of Strong agreed with Yeaton on Monday.
“We want to thank Cpl. Stephen Charles and the rest of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department for solving the break-in,” Melonie Ross said on behalf of herself and her husband. “We also want to thank the community members in Phillips for their tips.”
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