AUBURN — A Jay man and a Livermore man were charged Wednesday with 27 counts each in the burglary of 12 houses and buildings and a church and theft of copper piping last summer in Livermore Falls.

The Androscoggin County grand jury indicted Zachary Merrill Givens, 24, of 12 Church St., Apt. 2, in Jay, and Justin Kendall, 35, of 16 Bunkhouse Road in Livermore, each on 13 counts of felony burglary, 11 misdemeanor charges of theft, two counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief and one felony charge of aggravated criminal mischief.

A conviction on one felony burglary charge carries up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The two are accused of stealing more than $4,000 in copper piping and doing more than $2,000 damage in the process.

Jay police arrested Givens and Kendall on Aug. 12. They were indicted by a Franklin County grand jury in January in the theft of copper in that town. Givens was accused of stealing copper from two homes and Kendall from one last summer. Those cases have not been resolved and are expected to be joined with the Livermore Falls cases in an Androscoggin County court.

The spree in Livermore Falls began July 5 and appeared to end Aug. 4, according to indictment documents.

On July 24, the two are accused of stealing copper piping from the First Baptist Church on Church Street.

The most damage appears to have occurred Aug. 4 at a property owned by Camden National Bank. The men are accused of damaging or destroying windows, pipes, heating system equipment and other items, according to the indictment. The damage exceeded $2,000.

In many cases, the piping was cut and ripped out from plumbing and heating systems, Livermore Falls police Chief Ernest Steward Jr. said last year.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net