A Union man was arrested Saturday for allegedly stealing two crates of lobsters from a Tenants Harbor dock.
And the man is suspected of a similar heist in Bremen.
Charles N. Collins, 46, was charged with felony theft. The charge is a felony because the value of the allegedly stolen items exceeded $1,000.
An affidavit filed by the Maine Marine Patrol with the state court in Knox County, contends the value of the stolen crates of lobsters from Art’s Lobster Dock on March 24 was nearly $2,000.
Marine Patrol Officer Alexandre Michaud noted in the affidavit that Marine Patrol was also investigating a similar theft in Bremen during the previous week.
The officer reviewed surveillance footage from Art’s Lobster dock that showed a silver van pulled up to the dock and a woman and a man got out. Both shielded their face from the camera. They pulled two crates of lobsters onto a float and then used a power winch to raise the crates. They loaded the crates and drove away.
The video from Tenants Harbor did not show a license plate but the marine patrol officer investigating the Bremen theft sent the other officer a video that showed the same vehicle and this time the license plate was visible.
The van was registered to Mary Sczepaniak, 48, according to the police report. That van was stopped the night of the Tenants Harbor theft at a convenience store parking lot in Augusta for being uninspected and having a loud exhaust. She was arrested for violating conditions of release since she was supposed to be on house arrest. The officer found two crates of lobsters in the van but at that time, it was not known they were stolen.
Collins was in the vehicle and he was allowed to leave with the vehicle. Collins was wearing the same clothing as the man seen in the videos, according to the affidavit.
Collins made his initial appearance in court on Monday. Judge Sarah Gilbert set bail at $2,500 unsecured. A condition of bail is that he not be within 300 yards of any commercial fishing dock.
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.
