MEXICO – A rash of burglaries and vandalism damage may be related, police Sgt. Roy Hodsdon said this week.

He said officer Jason Taylor was completing paperwork at 3:36 a.m. May 29 when he heard a bang coming from the rear of the police station on Recreation Drive.

When he investigated, he found the glass back door shattered and a white male suspect, 5 feet, 10 inches tall fleeing on foot. A piece of tar had been thrown through the door, causing about $1,000 damage. When Taylor couldn’t find the man, he returned to the building where he discovered that the windshield of a police cruiser parked at the rear of the station had also been destroyed. That was valued at $500.

Ten days earlier, Maddy’s Pizza owner Greg Arsenault reported that someone had entered the restaurant through an unsecured window and stole $100 cash and an employee’s wallet. The business is on Main Street.

At 6:20 a.m. June 8, a resident who was walking his dog discovered that the padlock had been pried off the door to the Mexico Recreation Park snack bar, and that some bottles of water were stolen and damage done to the door.

On June 6, the owners of the bottle depot at routes 2 and 108 reported that someone broke a window to gain entry, then smashed open a cash register.

No cash was stolen, but $150 damage was done to the register and $50 to the window. The burglar stole a key to a storage trailer that holds recycled bottles, but nothing was taken.

Nearby, on the night of June 5, someone attempted to break into Rowe’s Afternoon Delite. Hodsdon said the alarm apparently scared that person away. A door was found open and nothing taken.

The most damage during the spree occurred at Dupuis Towing and Auto Salvage on River Road on May 19.

Hodsdon said a 14-year-old Rumford boy has been apprehended and arrested on charges of aggravated criminal mischief, criminal trespass and theft. Two other boys are being interviewed and charges are expected.

Sometime during the weekend of May 17 and 18, someone smashed the windows of 33 vehicles in the yard, causing about $30,000 damage, and stole a go-cart. About 5:30 p.m. on May 19, the owner reported seeing the go-cart being pushed by the 14-year-old near Aubuchon’s in Rumford. The youngster was returned to his parents while the court date is being set, Hodsdon said.

He said he believes many of the burglaries are related because they occurred in the same general area.

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