AUBURN — A Florida man was indicted Tuesday by an Androscoggin County grand jury on 18 counts, stemming from a rash of burglaries and vehicle thefts in Androscoggin and Franklin counties in October 2018.

Anthony Waack, 29, of West Palm Beach was indicted on five counts of theft by unauthorized taking, four counts of unauthorized use of property and four counts of receiving stolen property, all felonies punishable by five years in prison and fines of up to $5,000 on each count.

Waack was also indicted on a count of failing to stop for a police officer, and four counts of burglary of a motor vehicle, both misdemeanors punishable by a year in prison.

Waack allegedly entered the employee break room at the back of Food City Grocery in Lisbon on Oct. 17, 2018, stealing a phone, debit card and car keys.

According to the indictment, Waack on Oct. 18 stole a vehicle in Jay and broke into several others, stealing a GPS and a garage door opener.

 On Oct. 20, Waack was sighted at a Lisbon fast food restaurant in a gray Sedan that was reported as stolen from Palmyra, according to court documents.

Waack is alleged to have fled the parking lot after an officer asked him to stop. Later that day, the same car was seen traveling at high speed on Route 196. Officers pursued the car, but called the chase off after losing sight of the sedan.

Later that night, police said a resident at an apartment complex in Lisbon called police to report her 2002 Dodge minivan had been stolen from her parking space. Other residents of the complex reported items stolen from their vehicles. Police found the Ford sedan the suspect had allegedly driven earlier in the day, abandoned on a tote road. A laptop computer, prescription medication, a debit card, a camera and cellphone were found in the car, according to police.

Images of the suspect were sent to the Maine Information Analysis Center for identification using its facial recognition software system. The suspect was identified as Waack.

Arrested in November 2018, Waack’s bail was set at $25,000 cash. As of Tuesday, he remained at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn.

A week before his arrest in November, Waack had been released from custody in Vermont after a conviction for operating a vehicle without owner consent. Police said Waack had an active warrant from Massachusetts for a 2017 charge of larceny from a motor vehicle.

Waack’s criminal history is extensive, dating to 2008 in several states, with convictions on similar charges, according to court documents.

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