Police arrested a Windham man Thursday and charged him with nine burglaries that targeted businesses in Portland, South Portland and Westbrook over the last month.
Authorities say that Joseph Call Jr., 37, could be charged with several more burglaries in surrounding towns and that multiple co-conspirators also could be charged. Surveillance video previously released by one of the businesses clearly shows two suspects removing cash registers from the restaurant.
South Portland Police Detective Jeff Levesque and members of the Windham Police Department located and arrested Call at his home in Windham on Thursday morning.
“In all, Call was charged in nine different burglaries today, which took place in South Portland, Portland and Westbrook,” South Portland police said in a statement. “Call is believed to be involved in several more burglaries in other surrounding towns. Charges are expected in those cases soon. The investigation is ongoing and charges are anticipated for multiple co-conspirators.”
Call was charged with six burglaries at businesses in Portland: The Blue Lobster clothing store on Dec. 17; Coffee by Design on Dec. 30; Rosemont Market and Bakery on Dec. 30; LFK, a cocktail bar, on Dec. 31; the Rusty Lantern Market on Jan. 13; and Pat’s Meat Market on Jan. 14, police department spokesman Brad Nadeau said in a statement.
Call also faces theft charges, Nadeau said.
South Portland police have charged Call in burglaries that took place at Taco Trio on Dec. 25 and at Buena Vista Filipino Food Market on Jan. 2.
Westbrook police did not respond to questions about the location of their commercial burglary and whether Call is a suspect.
Call was being held Thursday night at the Cumberland County Jail on $3,500 cash bail.
Earlier this month, Portland and South Portland police announced that they were investigating a string of burglaries that could be connected.
Taco Trio and Buena Vista Filipino Market shared images of the suspects on social media and asked people to provide tips. Those businesses are about 3 miles apart. In one surveillance video, two burglars can be seen inside Taco Trio. The two men appear to be removing cash registers from the restaurant.
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