A local man who once broke into a couple’s home and then threatened them in an effort to extort more money is one of three people charged by police investigating last month’s theft of thousands of dollars of material from a Windsor business.

Jake Pilsbury, 23, a transient from the Jefferson area, Coty Norton-Perry and Brandi Grady, both 26 from Pittston, were all arrested Tuesday in Pittston by police investigating an Aug. 24 burglary at Cousin’s Sawmill on Route 105. Pilsbury is charged with burglary, criminal mischief and violating conditions of release. He also was issued a warrant charging him with failure to appear to answer previous charges of theft by receiving stolen property, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and burglary.

Pilsbury is being held in lieu of $10,000 cash bail.

Norton-Perry is charged with receiving stolen property, and Grady is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Norton-Perry was released on bail Wednesday. Grady was arrested, but not taken to jail.

Numerous boots, chainsaws and money, with a total value of $4,000, were stolen from the business during the burglary, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said in a release. State Police investigated the break in, eventually teaming up with detectives from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office who were investigating a similar burglary at NC Hunt Lumber Co. in Jefferson.

Police arrested Pilsbury during a traffic stop on Route 27 in Pittston as he was driving a minivan that was reportedly stolen in Massachusetts, McCausland said.

That evening police searched a mobile home at 158 Wiscasset Road in Pittston shared by Norton-Perry and Grady and found heroin and other narcotics, McCausland said.

“Information gained from that search led troopers to Jefferson where a large amount of the stolen property was located,” McCausland said. The stolen items included laptop computers stolen from a school in Monson, Mass.

“Troopers are working with Massachusetts police on that case, and charges are likely,” McCausland said.

Pilsbury was sentenced to 18 months in prison in March 2012 after pleading guilty to three burglaries, one count of theft by extortion, one count of theft by deception and five counts of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer.

Craig Crosby — 621-5642

ccrosby@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @CraigCrosby4

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