A Waldoboro man who eluded police for nearly a year is behind bars.
Kyle M. Bragdon, 27, is being held at the Knox County Jail in Rockland until he makes an initial court appearance Friday afternoon in Rockland District Court. He is charged with felony theft, failure to stop for a marine patrol officer and harvesting shellfish in a closed area.
The theft case goes back to Feb. 1, 2014, when Rockland police were contacted by Hamilton Marine about the theft of a jacket worth $155. Police reviewed a store video and allegedly saw Bragdon walk into the store with a jacket, go down an aisle, take off the old jacket and put on a new one, according to an affidavit filed by Rockland Police Officer Scott Solorzano.
Bragdon then went to the cashier and paid for a pair of oil gear pants but not for the jacket. The theft was not detected until the old jacket was found hanging on a rack and store employees reviewed the surveillance video. The store staff recognized Bragdon, who had given his name when purchasing the pants.
The theft charge is a felony because of a prior theft conviction.
On April 27, Marine Patrol Sgt. Matthew Talbot spotted Bragdon and two other men digging clams in a closed section of the Weskeag River in South Thomaston. Talbot went up to the men and talked with Bragdon, who gave his name and date of birth. Bragdon admitted he did not have a license to dig clams, according to Talbot.
Bragdon then asked the officer if he could go and pick up a drink he had. But Bragdon kept walking and when directed to return, he ran up an embankment and fled the scene, according to the affidavit filed by Talbot. The officer checked with police dispatch and found out that Bragdon was wanted for the theft in Rockland.
Bragdon has been on the loose until he was apprehended in New Bedford, Massachusetts, according to Knox County Sheriff Donna Dennison. He was returned to Knox County on Thursday afternoon on the outstanding warrants for the felony theft and Marine Patrol charges.
Details on how he was apprehended were not immediately available.
