ROCKLAND — A Thomaston man who was arrested by Maine State Police for allegedly breaking into storage units across four counties remains in jail.

Joshua Vandine, 37, was arrested March 19 in Rockland and charged with theft by receiving stolen property. He made his initial court appearance March 21 in Knox County Unified Court. Judge Patricia Worth set his bail at $25,000 cash.

According to the affidavit filed in Knox County Unified Court by Maine State Police Sgt. Patrick Hood, he was notified by Maine State Game Warden Mark Merrifield that a landlord reported that a tent was being set up on his property without his permission. Merrifield confirmed that the man was a felon and in possession of a firearm and issued a criminal summons. Also present were several rounds of .22 caliber ammunition and a soft-sided gun holder.

Police interviewed the man and he finally admitted that he had received the gun from Vandine, which was stolen from a home in Newcastle, according to the affidavit.

They began investigating vehicles that Vandine owned to see if they matched the surveillance photographs from additional break-ins at storage units, documents said.

Police discovered that at a storage unit in Woolwich, about $100,000 in antiques had been stolen. The surveillance video showed a vehicle similar to one Vandine owned at the time at the scene, documents said. 

Police were able to get photographs of the stolen antiques since they been recently appraised.

Rockport police were notified on May 29, 2017 of a break-in at a coin shop in West Rockport. Five days earlier a man fitting Vandine’s description had been in the coin shop looking at the coins that were later stolen.

Police obtained an arrest warrant and according to a news release from the Maine Department of Public Safety, troopers seized enough items from Vandine’s home, vehicle and his own storage locker, to load up two U-Haul trucks. The items include chainsaws, tools, hunting and fishing equipment, coins, antiques, toys, and clothing.

Troopers said Vandine is suspected in multiple burglaries into storage lockers over the past two years. He is suspected of cutting the padlocks from the storage units and then replacing the lock with one of his own to avoid immediate detection. Owners who have not checked their own storage units in months could be victims, the release also said.

The thefts may have included Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties and troopers have been working with the sheriff’s offices from those four counties in the investigation, the release said. Some of the thefts may date back to 2016. Storage unit owners and renters who have discovered they are victims should call State Police in Augusta, at 624-7076, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Vandine will appear in court again April 26.

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com