Frye Island

Greetings,

I hope this email finds everyone well as we head into the holiday season. I wanted to take this time to bring everyone up to date with the January, 2009, burglary investigation. I am pleased to announce that the main suspect, Patrick John Dyer, has pleaded guilty in Cumberland County Superior Court to committing the island burglaries and has been sentenced accordingly. Paul Christian Larsen has also pleaded guilty for his role in receiving stolen property from the island burglary victims. Cyril Wesley King’s charge of receiving stolen property was filed with a court cost of $250.00.

Let me, in chronological order; take you through how these charges came to be and how this plea agreement came to fruition. In January, 2009, a contractor on his snowmobile came out to the island and discovered what was believed to be approximately six burglaries. This information was made available to me later that same day. The next day a small group of island residents and town employees made the trip across the frozen lake and onto the island where 54 burglaries were discovered. It was obvious that these burglaries were committed before the lake was frozen and then shortly after the ice had formed. In the days to follow, several pieces of property from several homes were taken as evidence to be processed for fingerprints and DNA analysis through the Maine State Police Crime Lab in Augusta. As a result of the criminal investigation, suspects were identified, search warrants for DNA profiles were signed, and DNA profiles collected from suspects. Eventually, a DNA match identified Patrick John Dyer as the donor of the DNA collected from within one of the burglary crime scenes.

With a suspect identified, the Frye Island Police Department had to identify what was stolen and from whom. As island residents began to arrive on the island for the beginning of the 2009 season, I requested Town Manager Wayne Fournier run reminders in the FINS, under Wayne’s Word, advising Island residents to report to the Frye Island Police Department their property damage, as well as lost articles resulting from the burglaries. I also personally made contact with several burglary victims reminding them to come into the police department to complete reports. This request was open until August 9^th when I presented the case against Dyer to the Cumberland County Grand Jury for indictment. Unfortunately, only 22 of the 54 burglary victims came forward and reported a financial loss. Dyer was indicted on 22 counts of Class B Felony Burglary, 18 counts of Criminal Mischief, Class D Misdemeanor, 19 counts of Theft, Class C Felony and one count of Aggravated Criminal Mischief, Class C Felony.

In late August, 2009, the District Attorney sent out a letter to the 22 burglary victims advising them of an offer made to Patrick Dyer for his guilty plea. This letter from the District Attorney’s office also included a form asking victims to document their losses and return same to the District Attorney’s Office. Of the 22 letters sent out, only 9 were returned documenting a total financial loss of $7,000.00. This response, in my opinion, sent a strong message to the District Attorney’s Office that there was not a lot of interest in the prosecution of Patrick Dyer. I argued on behalf of the island residents stating that property insurance was, at times, difficult to obtain and when available, expensive to buy. This left people nervous about reporting their burglary for fear of losing their insurance or being penalized with inflated premiums. The District Attorney’s Office understood the situation but still had to play the hand they were dealt.

On December 3, 2009, after much negotiation, Patrick Dyer pled guilty to the island burglaries and was immediately sentenced as follows;

1. 40 months incarceration, State Prison (this represents both probation violation
and burglary convictions)

2. 6 years probation following State Prison

3. 18 years of un-served prison time for any probation violation (this represents un-served
probation violation and the un-served newly convicted burglary sentence)

4. Full restitution of $7,000.00 to the 9 burglary victims who submitted the District
Attorney’s property loss form.

Dyer’s probation consists of the following conditions;

1. Prohibited from entering the Town of Frye Island.

2. No use or possession of illegal drugs, or excessive alcohol use.

3. Full restitution to the 9 burglary victims who submitted the property loss questionnaire.

4. Dyer agrees not to have contact with anyone on probation.

5. Dyer agrees not to have contact with a number of witnesses against him.

If Dyer fails to comply with his probation conditions, he will be subject to all or part of the 18yr. un-served prison time, depending on the severity of the probation violation.

This result is less in-time up front but much more time hanging over Dyer's head. I suspect he may end up serving all of it due to his history of many probation violations.

On December 1, 2009, Paul Christian Larsen pled guilty to theft by receiving stolen property, was ordered to pay a fine, court costs and full restitution to the victim.

On December 3, 2009, Cyril Wesley King’s charge of receiving stolen property was filed with a court cost of $250.00

These court actions bring this investigation to a conclusion. I want to thank everyone involved for their patience during this process.

Respectfully submitted,

Chief Rod Beaulieu
Frye Island Police Department