FARMINGTON — Police say they made a third arrest Tuesday in connection with three burglaries near Mt. Blue High School on Monday night. Handguns, money and other items were taken from each of the homes, Farmington Police Chief Jack Peck said.

Kevin S. Crandall, 27, of Wilton and Marcus A. Thompson, 26, of Farmington were arrested Monday night after police investigated a vehicle abandoned in a field across from Knowlton Corner Farm at the corner of Knowlton Corner and Seamon roads. The blue car, missing a hubcap, fit the description of one seen at the site of a burglary, he said.

Police were looking for a third man Tuesday and arrested Michael Kidd, 20, of Chesterville, Peck said late Tuesday.

During a closer inspection of the abandoned vehicle Monday by Franklin County Sheriff’s Department Deputies Christopher Chase and Matthew Brann, items stolen from the homes were in plain view inside the car but no one was around, Peck said.

The officers called in Deputy Nate Bean and his dog and started tracking. The two men jumped out the woods and started running up Seamon Road toward the high school with the three officers chasing them. They were arrested behind the school, he said.

A homeowner at Hilltop Estates, off the Knowlton Corner Road, called police at 4:17 p.m. when he came home and found someone had broken in and stolen money, debit cards and a Smith & Wesson semiautomatic handgun, Peck said.

Farmington police Sgt. Michael Adcock spoke with neighbors. One remembered a blue car with two or three males in it parked at the home near the time the burglary was reported.

A second burglary on Dutch Gap Road in Chesterville was reported at 6:20 p.m. Deputies Chase and Brann met with the homeowner who said some money and a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol were missing.

The deputies found two sets of sneaker prints in the snow, Peck said.

Sgt. Adcock was called to a home burglary on the Lucy Knowles Road at 7:15 p.m. where the homeowner discovered a handgun, an iPod, a PlayStation 3, an Xbox, digital cameras and some cash were missing.

While police were dealing with the burglaries, the abandoned car was reported at 7:26 p.m., Peck said. He didn’t know why it was left in the field with all the items, including the handguns, still in the vehicle. The owner of the vehicle later reported it stolen, he said.

All items stolen from the three homes were recovered.

Police believe the burglaries were random, he said. All three homes are near each other, Peck said.

The men are expected to appear in court on Wednesday on charges of two counts of burglary and theft.

Kidd and Crandall also face a charge of violation of conditions of release.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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