A Benton man has been charged with receiving stolen property after a pawn shop owner helped recover a $14,000 dirt bike stolen from a Fairfield residence, police said.

Todd Stanton, 29, was arrested Thursday after Fairfield Police detective Matt Wilcox followed a trail of information that led to an Augusta pawn shop.

On May 4, a homeowner on Ridge Road reported that a 2013 Kawasaki KX250 worth $14,000 and a 2002 Honda CR 250R worth $2,000 had both been stolen from his garage, which showed signs of forced entry.

Fairfield police Chief Tom Gould said the pawn shop owner in Augusta grew suspicious when a man attempted to pawn the Kawasaki at his store.

When the shop owner called police, Wilcox “began to back track the path that stolen motorcycle had taken,” according to Gould.

Gould said Stanton sold the motorcycle to the man who then tried to pawn it.

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Both the Kawasaki and the Honda had been recovered, with minor damage, by Friday.

Wilcox found Stanton walking down railroad tracks in downtown Fairfield on Thursday afternoon and charged him with theft by receiving stolen property, a class C misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of five years incarceration and a $5,000 fine. Stanton, who was out on bail for an unrelated charge from Androscoggin County Superior Court, was also charged with violation of bail conditions.

Stanton was fined $500 in Waterville District Court in March 2013 for operating his vehicle with a suspended or revoked license.

This is a corrected version of this storyMatt Hongoltz-Hetling — 861-9287 | mhhetling@centralmaine.com | Twitter: @hh_matt


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