A 19-year-old Bremen man allegedly confessed Tuesday, Dec. 16 to three daylight burglaries on Church Street in Damariscotta Nov. 4, Nov. 5, and Dec. 9.
Kent M. Little will face three charges each of class B burglary and class E theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, Damariscotta Police Department Sgt. Jason Warlick said. He allegedly stole about $400 in change from the houses.
Little would go to residences in the neighborhood, knock on the front door, and offer to shovel snow for a fee, Warlick said. When nobody was home, he would allegedly go inside and steal change.
The department received anonymous tips about Little’s presence in the neighborhood after the November burglaries, but did not have enough evidence to make an arrest.
Little allegedly burglarized another home Dec. 9, Warlick said. He returned to the same home Tuesday, Dec. 16. This time, someone was home. He offered his snow-shoveling services and left his name and phone number.
“I found that to be very coincidental, that these homes that were being burglarized were also being visited by Kent around the same time, so I brought him in for an interview,” Warlick said. “Subsequently, during the interview, he did admit to entering all three houses and taking the change from the houses.”
The department photographed bootprints in the snow after the November burglaries, Warlick said. The boots Little wore to the interview matched the prints, and Little admitted he wore the same boots during the burglaries.
Little cashed the coins in at local coin machines, Warlick said. One of the residences reported a missing Vicodin prescription, but Little denied taking the drug.
Warlick booked Little at the Damariscotta station. He is currently free on $2,000 unsecured bail.
Warlick credited the cooperation of the neighborhood with helping to bring about the arrest.
“This is another example of how important community policing is,” Warlick said. “It was a direct effort of the community as well as the police department to solve this crime.”
“Had the community not been involved and diligent about paying attention to who was in their neighborhood, we may not have been able to solve the crime,” Warlick said.
