Three men and a juvenile are facing aggravated criminal mischief charges after a crime spree that included more than 30 incidents of vandalism in Anson, Madison and Norridgewock over the weekend.
The four are accused of slashing tires, destroying mailboxes, breaking fences and committing other acts of vandalism towards random homeowners in retaliation for a noise complaint that drew police to one of their homes last week, according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster.
“The homeowner was upset about that and there was some alcohol involved,” he said.
Travis Brown, 39, of Madison, was arrested Sunday on a charge of felony Class C aggravated criminal mischief. Brown is the owner of the Preble Avenue home where police had responded last week for a noise complaint, Lancaster said.
Also charged were Jacob Johnston, 20, of Madison; Nathan Hubbard, 18, of Madison; and a 17-year-old juvenile.
The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office began receiving complaints about the vandalism at around 3 a.m. on Saturday, including broken fences, destroyed or damaged mailboxes and slashed tires, Lancaster said.
In Anson, damages were reported on Beane Street, Main Street, Ingalls Street and Hilton Hill Road; and in Madison on Colby Bryant Road, Ward Hill Road, Pine Street, Spring Street and Preble Avenue.
In Norridgewock damage was reported on Ward Hill Road, Walker Road and Madison Road, which is U.S. Route 201A.
Cpl. David Cole, the shift supervisor on Saturday, organized the investigation by Deputy Craig Dyer and Deputy Tyler LaFreniere, of the sheriff’s office Madison division. Evidence at the scene of one of the homes led them to Brown’s home on Preble Avenue, Lancaster said.
He said the damages are currently estimated to have cost between $3,000 and $4,000 total and the investigation is ongoing.
Cole said over the weekend that the reported incidents were class D crimes, but Lancaster said Tuesday that the charges were elevated to class C felonies because of the extensive damage.
“Normally damages under $1,000 are class D crimes, but we’re looking at this as one incident, so the damage will exceed $1,000, making it a felony,” Lancaster said.
He said the work of the sheriff’s office over the weekend is a good example of a coordinated effort between the main office and it’s Madison division.
“It was an excellent use of combined resources to complete a comprehensive and successful investigation,” Lancaster said. “There was one supervisor overseeing all three towns and coordinating everyone’s efforts and in this case it ended with a successful resolution.”
The Somerset Sheriff’s Office asks that anyone who believes they have property damage stemming from the spree call the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office at 474-9591.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368
Twitter: @rachel_ohm