Contributed photo/Ashland Police DepartmentHOULTON — One of two men arrested in Ashland for allegedly stealing the car of a Georgia family fleeing Hurricane Matthew was again arrested for allegedly stealing the same kind of car from a Dunkin’ Donuts in Houlton.
Joshua Brock of Warner Robins, Georgia, was arrested Oct. 18 in East Millinocket and charged with another count of theft by unauthorized use of property after he allegedly stole a white Chevy Trailblazer parked at a Dunkin’ Donuts on Route 1 following his release from Aroostook County Jail in Houlton, said Houlton police Detective Stephen Nason.
Brock was originally arrested in Ashland Sunday, Oct. 16, along with Kevin Bason of Weatherford, Texas, for allegedly stealing a different white Chevy Trailblazer in Georgia from a family in that state evacuating Hurricane Matthew.
Brock and Bason were charged with theft by unauthorized use of property in connection with the stolen vehicle, and the owners, from Brunswick, Georgia, arrived in Ashland to pick up their car Tuesday night, said Ashland Police Chief Cyr Martin.
Brock and Bason were taken to Aroostook County Jail and released on the morning of Oct. 18. It was shortly after that, according to Nason, that Brock allegedly fled Houlton with the second stolen vehicle, which is owned by a Houlton resident.
Houlton officers received the report of the stolen car at 10:30 a.m. and alerted authorities throughout northern Maine, Nason said. Shortly after 12 p.m. Brock was stopped and then arrested by East Millinocket Police Chief Cameron McDunnah, and was the only occupant of the vehicle, according to Nason.
Brock is being held on $5,000 bail at Aroostook County Jail, facing charges of unauthorized use of property, driving without a license and failure to report an accident.
Bason and Brock were originally arrested after Ashland police Officer Tim Morrison stopped them driving the SUV east on Route 163.
Morrison, an Ashland reserve officer, was originally following a citizen complaint about the pair acting strangely at the Ashland One Stop store, and after pulling them over checked the vehicle’s information in a database of missing cars and discovered it was listed as stolen, Martin said.
When asked by the officer why they were in Ashland, the individuals said they had come north to “go fishing for lobster and clams” and work for someone, according to Martin. The U.S. Border Patrol and its K-9 checked the vehicle for drugs, which were not found, he added.
