WILTON — Police say they caught a local man inside the demolition site of the former Forster Mill on Depot Street on Wednesday afternoon.
Robert L. West, 18, was arrested on charges of burglary and theft Wednesday after police responded to a report that a person had been breaking into the site. They found him on the property at about 4:40 p.m., Wilton Police Chief Heidi Wilcox said.
West was taking tools from the site and an investigation uncovered a container of stolen property at his home, also on Depot Street, she said. Police said West burglarized the site more than once.
Police believe he crawled under a fence to get into the site where demolition work stopped in July after a Maine Department of Environmental Protection inspection revealed asbestos-containing insulation was improperly removed.
Abatement Professionals Corp. of Westbrook completed asbestos abatement work outside the building while financing was sought to complete the work inside. The asbestos is sealed within the building and it’s safe outside the gated area, Abatement Professionals owner Robert Rickett said last fall.
West made an initial court appearance Thursday where bail was set at either $300 or pretrial contract, according to an officer at the Franklin County Detention Center in Farmington where he remained late Thursday.
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