AUBURN — A local man and woman have been charged in a spree of commercial burglaries this year.
Amanda Garland and Billie Jo Garland Submitted photo
An Androscoggin County grand jury handed up indictments this week charging Amanda Garland, 41, and Billie Jo Garland, 46, with more than two dozen crimes.
The Garlands each face 11 counts of burglary, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Both also were charged with aggravated criminal mischief, also punishable by a maximum of five years in prison.
Prosecutors have filed motions to revoke the bail of each defendant.
Amanda Garland posted bail, but Billie Jo Garland is being held without bail pending a bail revocation hearing, according to staff at Androscoggin County Jail.
The two were arrested after police converged on Amanda Garland’s Eastman Lane home in May.
The Garlands were two of three people arrested in late April in what police describe as a spree of commercial burglaries that stretched across Androscoggin County and possibly beyond.
Auburn police had been investigating the break-ins with the help of the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office and other departments since March 2.
On that day, in the overnight hours, East Auburn Baptist Church was burglarized and cash and other items taken, police said.
Shortly afterward, police received reports of other business break-ins across three counties.
Police from several jurisdictions continued to investigate the burglaries, which plagued multiple stores and other businesses since late winter.
Charles York Auburn Police Department
The third person arrested in connection with the spate of burglaries, Charles York, 46, of Lewiston, was indicted Tuesday on a charge of theft of a firearm, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
He also faces a dozen burglary charges as well as one count of aggravated criminal mischief, each punishable by up to five years in prison.
York also was charged with a dozen counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief stemming from the burglaries.
He was being held at Androscoggin County Jail as of Thursday.
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