Police recover stolen goods and make arrest in early morning burglary

FORT KENT - Fort Kent Police Chief Kenneth Michaud arrested 36-year-old Luis Alduende-Villa Friday afternoon in connection with a burglary at 267 West Main Street, which houses Paper Signs Ink, and is the operation center for Fiddlehead Focus.

LUIS ALDUENDE-VILLA

Police charged Alduende-Villa with burglary and theft for allegedly breaking into the offices of Fiddlehead Focus and Paper Signs Ink during the early morning hours Jan. 20. Police believe Alduende-Villa acted alone in the burglary. He also vandalized the property, causing thousands of dollars in damage.

Police recovered most of the computer and electronics equipment Friday afternoon at Alduende-Villa's apartment above the Fort Kent Chamber of Commerce, just two doors down from the Paper Signs Ink and Fiddlehead Focus offices. Police found the items hidden in various parts of the apartment. Villa had damaged some of the items.

Fiddlehead Focus Publisher Andrew Birden and Paper Signs Ink owner Steve Daigle met police at the apartment to retrieve their belongings.

BLOOD EVIDENCE - Officer Dalen Boucher collects blood samples from where Alduende-Villa injured himself when he broke the glass in the front door of the Paper Signs Ink to enter the building. - Birden image

Birden said, "He had the trousers that he wore hidden in the stove. He had the Fiddlehead Focus lockbox, empty of cash, hidden in the microwave. Computer screens and a pair of Steve Daigle's swimming goggles were hidden under the couch. He had a little cabinet that lifted up, and hidden in the cavity under the cabinet was one of my computers. Underneath the bottom drawer of his dresser he had all of my power supplies, and chargers, batteries, and my cell phone charger. He had stuff hidden everywhere."

The clues led police to Alduende-Villa. Police found blood on the steps leading to his apartment and a computer disk from one of the stolen computers on one of the steps. A video a neighboring business provided showed Aldeunde-Villa walking back and forth between the buildings and taking care to walk in the same footsteps at approximately 5:15 a.m. and carrying a trash can that he may have used to transport the stolen equipment.

Police confirmed that Alduende-Villa was responsible for a break-in at Robert's Jewelry in Madawaska in 2009 and that he has a history of criminal activity. Police transported Alduende-Villa to Caribou and are holding him without bail pending trial.

For more information about the crime, please click here.