A Waldoboro woman was arrested for robbery, burglary, and other charges early on Feb. 16 after allegedly driving off as an employee of the store she is said to have burglarized was hanging out of the vehicle’s window in an attempt to stop her.
Karrie Prior, 23, allegedly stole 180 “Johnny Bravo” dietary supplement pills and an undisclosed amount of money from Hoffman Collectables on Route 1 in Waldoboro, according to Waldoboro Police Chief Bill Labombarde.
Sgt. Jamie Wilson and Officer John Lash were dispatched to a possible burglary at the business at around 11:55 p.m. on Feb. 15. They arrived and saw the rear door of the business had been smashed, Labombarde said.
The burglary was reported by a snowplow operator who was working in the nearby Hannaford parking lot, and gave the officers a description of a vehicle he saw by Hoffman Collectables.
As Lash and Wilson were searching for the vehicle, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Jared Mitkus stopped a vehicle matching the description nearby, Labombarde said.
Wilson responded to Mitkus’s location and determined it was not the vehicle they were looking for.
Meanwhile, Michael Hoffman, an employee of Hoffman Collectables, arrived at the business, went inside, and turned the lights on. Looking around, Hoffman said he did not see anyone in the building.
“Then I heard a smashing noise, and I go to look around the corner and see her breaking out the front door to get out,” Hoffman said.
Prior allegedly threw a candy machine through the front door to escape, Labombarde said.
“We checked the cameras after they had caught her, and she was hiding up by our front door, but behind shelves, so when I looked down the hallway it looked empty,” Hoffman said.
“I chased after her down the hallway, through the door, and around the building to her car and I went to grab the keys so she couldn’t get away,” Hoffman said. “She threw it into drive, drug me out to Route 1 and I was slowly trying to pull myself into the car, grabbed the steering wheel” and the vehicle crashed into a snowbank, he said.
In the process, Hoffman said he bruised his leg, ribs, and back, and tore at least one to two layers of his right bicep off the bone.
Assisted by Mitkus, Lash arrested Prior and she was taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, Labombarde said. She was charged with robbery, a Class B felony; burglary, a Class C felony; assault, Class D; criminal mischief, Class D; theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, Class E; driving to endanger, Class E; and violation of conditions of release, Class E.
Prior was arraigned on Feb. 19, and her bail was reduced from $20,000 cash to $5000, according to jail personnel. She remained in custody at the jail as of Feb. 21.
