A pair of posts on the social networking site Facebook helped the Damariscotta Police identify and summons a Waldoboro woman for allegedly shoplifting from Renys.
Alexiee McPhee, 19, faces a charge of Class E theft by unauthorized taking for allegedly stealing a pair of boots on Dec. 13.
A week after the theft, the Damariscotta Police Department posted two still photographs from a security camera picturing a man and a woman. The post asked anyone able to identify them to call the department.
The photos received dozens of comments and shares.
The strategy worked. “Seven people called me,” Aaron Beck, the investigating officer, said – all identifying the same individuals. The man does not face charges, Beck said.
It’s not the first time the department’s Facebook, along with a cooperative public, has assisted in identifying a suspect. Beck said he identified a suspect in a theft from Hannaford under similar circumstances. “It has definitely been useful,” he said.
The Dec. 13 theft was the third shoplifting incident from Renys’ Damariscotta stores during the holiday season, Beck said.
The department has obtained arrest warrants for suspects in the other two cases, he said.
