FARMINGTON — Police said a 14-year-old boy from New Hampshire suspected in 11 vehicle thefts, including three in Farmington, was arrested in Waldo County on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Farmington police, the teen is from Groveton, but New Hampshire State Police say he is from Campton. His name was not released because he is a juvenile.
He is being linked to 11 motor vehicle thefts between Sunday night and Tuesday afternoon in both states. At least three of the vehicles were found wrecked.
The juvenile is charged by Farmington Police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office with vehicle thefts Monday, Farmington Detective Marc Bowering said in a prepared statement.
The teen also faces several burglary charges by the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department in Belfast.
According to a written statement from New Hampshire State Police, at about 9:41 p.m. Sunday, it received multiple reports of a motor vehicle collision on Route 3 in Stewartstown. When police arrived, they found an abandoned vehicle that had rolled over. State police received information that the vehicle had been stolen from Clarksville about 3 miles away.
The Colebrook (New Hampshire) Police Department and the U.S. Border Patrol were asked to help find the driver. During that search, police received a report of a pickup truck stolen from Stratford, according to the New Hampshire State Police statement.
Clarksville and Stratford are about 30 miles apart.
According to police, the owner of the stolen pickup reported another vehicle had been left nearby, which police later determined had also been stolen.
The stolen pickup truck was found in a ditch off Bog Road in Stratford, and during a K-9 search for the driver another vehicle was reported stolen in Northumberland about 5 miles away.
That vehicle was found crashed a short distance away in Maine, according to police. Two more vehicles were reported stolen in that area.
According to Farmington police, a vehicle with New Hampshire plates was spotted speeding on Main Street in Farmington at about 4 a.m. Monday. A Farmington officer tried to stop the driver on Route 27, but backed off because of the high speed, Deputy Chief Shane Cote said Monday. The officer saw the vehicle in a New Vineyard driveway and another one leave the residence. It was found later in a ditch at the intersection of Routes 4 and 27 in Farmington.
While searching for the driver, police were notified of an abandoned vehicle on the Temple Road in Farmington that had been taken from a Barlen Street residence.
Police in Campton are investigating reports of two stolen vehicles in that town.
Officers from Waldo County and New Hampshire State Police were unavailable Wednesday to provide more information.
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