OXFORD — An Oxford man is charged with stealing money, tools, an iPod and other items from his friend’s mother’s house  Tuesday.

John Ayotte, 22, of 187 Tiger Hill Road, was charged with burglary and theft.

Sgt. Rickie Jack of the Oxford Police Department said Ayotte called his friend to ask if anybody was home, saying he wanted to borrow a saw blade. Ayotte was told no one would be home.

The homeowner, Teresa Curtis, returned to her home on Pit Road to find Ayotte there. Jack said Curtis told him she saw a circular saw that belonged to her deceased husband in Ayotte’s car. She also noticed that bags of returnables had been carried outside, Jack said.

She told Jack he was carrying a clock out of the house, which he threw under the deck when he saw her, he said.

“She was kind of bewildered about what was going on at the time, and she was trying to get ahold of her son,” Jack said. “The story wasn’t adding up.” She said Ayotte drove off when she went inside to call the police.

Later that night, Ayotte returned to the house to try to smooth things over with Curtis and her son, Jack said. She called the police again, and Ayotte fled to his mother’s house, where Jack found him.

Jack said he found Ayotte and they spoke. “We talked for a little while, and I kind of got his side of the story,” Jack said. “I ended up arresting him.”

The items missing from the home haven’t been recovered, Jack said.

[email protected]