BY BETTY JESPERSEN

Staff Writer

A second man suspected of being involved in a plot to steal cars and rob stores in the Farmington area last month was arrested Friday in Waterville.

Robert Lacroix, 22, of Winslow was arrested Friday morning by Waterville police. He was wanted on a warrant in connection with the thefts of five vehicles in Farmington and Temple and a reported burglary at Rick's Market in Dryden on Oct. 20 and 21.

Lacroix has been charged with passing a roadblock, a felony; and theft by unauthorized use of property, a misdemeanor.

Waterville police arrested Lacroix, 22, of 17 College Ave. in Waterville, at around 10:45 a.m.

Acting on tips that he was in Waterville, about eight officers surrounded a residence at 7 Hazelwood Ave., according to Sgt. Jeffrey Bearce.

"After an extensive search, he was found hiding in a closet," Bearce said.

Inside the residence was another man, a woman and a child, Bearce said. Lacroix was arrested without further incident and the others in the house were not charged, he said.

"This is a young man who needs to be taken off the street; he has an extensive criminal history," Bearce said.

The lead investigator in the case, Detective Thomas White, took Lacroix from Waterville to the Franklin County Jail in Farmington. His court appearance will be Monday.

On Thursday, alleged accomplice Jacob Hastings, 20, of Augusta was arraigned in Farmington District Court on the felony charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, namely a motor vehicle; and unauthorized use of property. Hastings was arrested when he reported to his probation officer.

Hastings had been released from the state prison at Warren four days before the alleged thefts; he was on probation for a conviction on three counts of robbery that occurred in 2006 in Kennebec County.

On Thursday, a judge ordered Hastings held on a probation revocation. Bail was set on the new charges at $10,000 cash or $100,000 worth of real estate.

Hastings and Lacroix were allegedly involved in a series of incidents on Oct. 19 and 20 in Temple. According to court records, several vehicles were stolen from residences in Temple and as Franklin County deputies were pursuing the drivers, two cruisers were nearly struck when the operator deliberately swerved at them.

At an intersection, a stolen van with its headlights off rammed a Wilton police cruiser, injuring Officer Nathan Reid and destroying the car. The van rolled over several times but the two men escaped and split up.

According to an affidavit filed by police, a witness said Hastings was driving the stolen van and that he was injured in the crash. Hastings was allegedly hiding at a home in Augusta.

The same witness said he had picked up Hastings at a residence on Twin Birches Lane in Farmington shortly after the crash with the cruiser.

"(The witness) told (police) that Hastings had a friend from Waterville named Robbie who he hung around with frequently," according to the affidavit.

Another witness who lives in Avon told police that at about 6:20 a.m. on Oct. 20, a man showed up at a residence on Route 4 who was "wet from the waist down, who had visible injuries to the head and scrapes on the back . . . and told (the witness) that he had been involved in a truck accident and needed a ride," according to court records.

The witness let the man use his phone to call a friend and then gave him a ride to Beal's Store in Strong where another man picked him up. The witness identified the injured man as Lacroix, the affidavit states.

Police traced the phone number on the witness' cell phone and found it was assigned to Caleb Hupper of Farmington.

On Oct. 22, Hupper, who was arrested and was in custody at the Franklin County jail on a probation violation, told police, under questioning, that he gave both Hastings and Lecroix rides on Oct. 19 to steal a vehicle that they planned to use in a store robbery. The target was My Wife's Place on Route 27 in New Vineyard, according to the court document.

Hupper admitted being the driver who picked Lecroix up at Beal's Store in Strong on Oct. 20.

And Hupper said he was the one who met Hastings earlier that same morning at McDonald's in Farmington. According to Hupper, Hastings had been driving a green Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck according to court records.

The same vehicle had been stolen earlier in Temple.

Farmington police recovered a green stolen Chevrolet Avalanche in the McDonald's parking lot at 8:20 a.m. Oct. 20.