By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

For South Portland residents, closing and locking windows and doors this holiday season could help save on more than just a home heating bill. For the second time this year, police have made arrests they’re hoping will put an end to a recent citywide burglary spike.

“Any burglary is a serious offense,” Webster said. “If you haven’t ever had your house broken into you can’t appreciate the amount of anger and frustration [of victims].”

On Tuesday South Portland police arrested Buxton residents Samuel Cantlin and Mandi Stevens, both 21, and charged the married couple with burglary.

“They are both being charged with one count of burglary, but there is reason to believe that they may have been involved in more than one incident,” Webster wrote in a press release. “The investigation is continuing at this point. There may be more arrests when the investigation is completed.”

Between Nov. 4 and Dec 4., Webster said there were approximately 25 reported burglaries. According to records provided by Det. Reed Barker, the recent spree puts the total amount of burglaries in 2008 up to 114 which is 15 more than during the same period last year, a 14 percent increase. Last month, officers responded to as many as three in a single day, Webster said.

The new wave of burglaries came three months  after South Portland Police arrested 18-year-old Kenneth Dubuc – charged with one count of residential burglary and receiving stolen property – consequently ending a string of similar crimes concentrated in the Pleasantdale and Knightville areas of the city. Unlike this summer, last month’s burglaries occurred throughout the city – from Cottage Road to the Red Bank neighborhood, Webster said. 

University of Southern Maine Wrestling coach and Red Bank resident Joe Pistone said he wasn’t aware of the burglaries before being contacted by the Sentry, but he did feel concerned for a number of his younger neighbors.

“I have some kids that are currently on my wrestling team that don’t have much to start with that live in that area,” he wrote in an email. “A lot of these kids are balancing two jobs, in school full time and participating on the mens wrestling team and really just trying to do the right things. These same kids are owning their apartments for the first time and do not deserve to be victims of these type of crimes.”

While this summer’s burglaries were typically night break-ins – sometimes while residents were asleep inside – Webster said a majority of last month’s crimes occurred during the day. 

“[The robbers] seem[ed] to be operating in the late afternoon or early evening,” he said. “They [were] not kicking doors in, they [didn’t] have to. It gets dark very early now all they [had] to do [was] look for the empty houses.”

Webster said the burglars usually entered the homes through an unlocked window and gather “small and easy to carry” items such as video games, DVDs, laptop computers and other electronic devices.

 “They [were] looking for popular items that are easier to get rid of,” Webster said. “Obviously these people [were] paranoid and [didn’t] want to get caught.”

Webster said on one occasion a homeowner came home to find a pillowcase with valuables inside on their floor, a sign the burglary was in progress when the homeowner arrived. Webster said some physical evidence was collected from one crime scene and the arrests were “made possible as a result of information from some of the victims, observations made by citizens, information received from the patrol division and excellent investigative work conducted by the two detectives assigned the cases.”

Police Chief Edward Googins said the department was still looking to hire an additional police officer during last month’s break-ins, but the new position was not related to the increase in burglaries. 

To report a crime that requires immediate response residents should call 911. To leave a confidential tip on the department’s hotline call 347-4100 or speak with a dispatcher at 799-5511.