York County sheriff’s deputies recovered 11 stolen guns, including a .50-caliber sniper rifle, from a house in Buxton on Monday night.

Maine State Police say the guns were stolen by members of a burglary ring that operated in York, Cumberland and Oxford counties during the past two months and was broken up last week.

Christopher Michaud, 23, and Amber Meserve, 21, both of Limerick, are being held in the York County Jail in Alfred on $20,000 bail each. Cole Meserve, 20 of Standish – Amber Meserve’s brother – is being held on $15,000 bail. All three made their initial court appearances in Springvale District Court on Monday, when a judge increased their bail from $10,000 each.

Acting on a tip, sheriff’s deputies found the guns Monday night in a home on Hurlin Smith Road in Buxton, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. They included the .50-caliber sniper rifle, three Ruger special edition pistols and three assault rifles. Investigators say there may be three or four more guns that they have not yet found.

McCausland said the three suspects kicked in doors to commit more than 20 daytime burglaries at homes in Sebago, Brownfield, Denmark, Gorham, Limington, Limerick, Dayton and Lyman. The burglaries had been occurring since October.

Trooper Jeremy Forbes, an investigator at the state police barracks in Alfred, said the three were using the money they got for the stolen items to buy drugs, according to McCausland.

Police believe that Amber Meserve had her two small children in her vehicle during some of the burglaries, McCausland said.

Investigators searched houses in Limerick and Buxton and a self-storage facility in Limerick on Friday and Saturday. They recovered several guns, three off-road motorcycles, televisions, computers and other electronic devices. They also seized a large amount of marijuana.

Investigators also found a large amount of heroin and expect additional arrests, McCausland said.


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