By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

MINOT – Four teenagers who police say tried to break into a home in search of booze and dope Tuesday were instead chased off by a man inside the house and later tracked down by police.

The two boys and two girls were charged with attempted burglary after they were found hiding in another home near the scene of the crime, police said.

It happened at about 4 p.m. Police said the teens went to a home off Route 124, near the Mechanic Falls town line, believing the house was empty.

Investigators said the kids walked onto a porch and tried to open a sliding glass door. The plan was foiled however, because the son of the man who lives there was upstairs at the time. He heard a noise downstairs and went to investigate, police said.

“The adult son was inside at the time and they weren’t aware of it,” said Detective Sgt. Rielly Bryant of the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office. “When they saw him, they took off running.”

The man who frightened the would-be burglars away called police and provided them with detailed descriptions of the suspects. When deputies Brian Smith and Travis Lovering went to a home a short distance away, they found the two girls upstairs and the boys hiding in a basement, Bryant said.

The teens were questioned about the incident and eventually confessed, the detective said.

“When questioned, they admitted what their motives were,” Bryant said. “Apparently, their intent was to break in and search for alcohol and marijuana. There are no indications that there were either of those things inside the house.”

Police contacted an official from juvenile probation and parole. It was decided that the teens would be turned over to their parents pending court hearings. Because the suspects are juveniles, their names were not released.

The matter remained under investigation late Tuesday night.

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