LEWISTON – A pair of detectives went old-school on Wednesday to recover a supply of paintball equipment stolen in a break-in a day before.

Lewiston Detective Trevor Campbell and David Levesque of the Central Maine Violent Crimes Task Force recovered guns and other items after they spent the morning undercover at River Valley View Apartments on Strawberry Avenue.

A day before, the owners of Scorpion Paintball near the apartment complex had reported the business was broken into and equipment was taken.

Levesque and Campbell on Wednesday zeroed in on River Valley, believing the culprits lived there and likely targeted Scorpion because of its proximity.

According to Lewiston police spokesman Michael McGonagle, the detectives had also learned that a group of local men had been hanging out at Scorpion but not buying anything.

With that information, Levesque and Campbell hung around the apartment complex, searching for anyone who fit the profile of the thieves.

By early afternoon, their hunches and tips paid off. The detectives approached a trio of young men and asked them about the break-in. The suspects were questioned independently and at least one of them admitted to the theft, McGonagle said.

Levesque and Campbell were led to the stolen paintball equipment, stored at an apartment at the complex. Police said there was less equipment stolen in the heist than originally reported. Roughly $1,000 in paintball equipment was stolen and recovered.

Police expect the three men who turned over the items to be charged when the case is presented to the next session of the grand jury.

“Those guys are real hustlers,” McGonagle said of Levesque and Campbell. “They did a great job tracking this stuff down.”