POLAND — A man and his girlfriend were arrested Thursday, accused of breaking into a Turner home and stealing several firearms.

Peter M. Curtis, 26, of 51 Northern Springs Drive was arrested on charges of burglary, theft and drug trafficking after police said they found the stolen weapons – and a slew of other items – in his home.

Police also arrested 21-year-old Danialle N. Burgess, who lives with Curtis. She was charged with theft and three counts of endangering the welfare of children.

The investigation began Thursday when Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department investigators received a report that a home on East Hebron Road in Turner had been broken into. Thieves took several guns in the heist, police said.

As the investigation grew, sheriff’s officials were joined by others from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Agents from those groups joined sheriff’s officials in a raid on Curtis’ home later Thursday. There, police said, they recovered the stolen firearms, drugs and paraphernalia, and items that had been stolen from homes in Oxford and Cumberland counties.

Advertisement

Police did not say what type of drugs were found in the home and did not provide further information about the stolen firearms. Investigators said they recovered evidence of drug trafficking from Curtis’ home.

Curtis was taken to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn where bail was set at $20,000. Burgess, mother of three children who live with her at the Northern Springs Drive home, also was held on $20,000 bail.

Curtis is no stranger to the local jail — he was released from prison in the middle of 2012 after serving time for burglaries in Androscoggin County region.

Both suspects remained at the county jail Friday night. Police were continuing to investigate the Turner break-in, as well as other burglaries reported around the Tri-County area. Sheriff’s officials and drug agents were working with several other departments as the investigation continued.

Police said all the stolen guns were accounted for, a matter that had worried the officers involved in tracking them down.

“These arrests speak directly to the hard work put in by the agents and investigators in this area,” said MDEA Agent Tyler Michaud, who helped coordinate the operation. “The pair arrested were committing a wide array of crimes that attracted the interests of various agencies. By combining our efforts we were able to bring a quick end to this and recover a large amount of guns before they were placed into the wrong hands.”


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: