POLAND – Just when you thought you’d heard the last of the holiday theft stories, police in Poland are investigating a pair of burglaries in which money, guns and Christmas gifts were stolen.

Among those victimized, police said, was a solider recently back from Iraq whose home was broken into and gifts for his daughter stolen.

Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Deputy Tom Slivinski said that on Wednesday, Dec. 19, thieves broke into a home that sits at the end of a long driveway on Lane Road.

The homeowner was at work at the time of the burglary, which took place between 7:30 a.m. and 10 p.m., Slivinski said.

Although several firearms were apparently looked at and handled, the thieves took only money, including a large jar of state coins that the homeowner had been collecting.

The second burglary took place on the Poland Corner Road, again a lone house sitting at the end of a long driveway.

Thieves forced open the front door and this time stole firearms, currency and Christmas gifts, Slivinski said.

“Burglars and thieves are despicable characters in general,” said Slivinski, the lead investigator. “But Sunday’s burglary was especially heinous.”

The Poland Corner Road residence was recently purchased by a newly returned Iraq war veteran.

“It takes a special kind of bottom-dweller to break into a guy’s house at Christmastime and steal not only some family heirlooms and his money, but they also made off with his daughter’s Christmas presents,” Slivinski said. “To survive the war and come back only to be violated by one of your own countrymen is really a kick in the butt.”

Anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to contact Slivinski at the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department at 784-7361, ext. 264.