FAIRFIELD — An Oakland man who was charged with stealing a widow’s jewelry on Christmas Eve was arrested early Sunday morning, allegedly trying to break into three houses in Fairfield.
Stephen A. Frappier, 28, was arrested on a warrant on an indictment returned in Kennebec County Superior Court charging him with taking jewelry worth more than $1,000 from a 76-year-old neighbor’s apartment on Dec. 24, according to District Attorney Maeghan Maloney.
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Police had been unable to locate him following his indictment on felony burglary and theft charges, Maloney said.
A judge on Monday set Frappier’s arraignment date for Sept. 3. Maloney said her office argued for $5,000 bail, but the judge set bail at $1,000.
Frappier was one of three men arrested near the same Newhall Street apartment house Sunday in apparently separate incidences about 15 hours apart. Two of the three went to jail, one of them — Frappier — with paint covering his face and clothing.
Fairfield police responded to a report of a man attempting to break into three Newhall Street homes just before 2 a.m. Sunday. The man was Frappier, Fairfield Police Chief Tom Gould alleged on Monday.
“He was trying to break in, but not to burglarize them — he was just trying to hide, apparently,” Gould said. “He said that he had been assaulted and was trying to hide from them. He claimed he had been chased by people and had been beaten up.”
Gould said Frappier found a can of paint on the deck at 20 Newhall St. and proceeded to slam the can against a window of the house. The can burst open upon contact, spraying Frappier.
He later told police he was just trying to wake somebody up inside the residence. People in the neighborhood claimed he was trying to burglarize houses, Gould said.
“He was covered in paint; the porch was covered in paint,” Gould said. “There was paint all over the floor inside the house, including footprints. They seized the shoes he was wearing because they matched the prints.”
Frappier was arrested on a warrant on the indictment for burglary, a warrant for unpaid fines or fees on a conviction for operating while license was suspended or revoked, and with criminal mischief for the paint damage to the two addresses. He was taken to the Somerset County Jail in East Madison.
Frappier told police in December that a lifelong drug habit he recently kicked was a contributing factor in the burglary of the neighbor’s apartment. “I don’t deny the charges, and I’m not saying I’m guilty,” he said at the time, according to a Morning Sentinel report. “But I have a bad past. I had a juvenile moment.”
In 2010, Frappier was sentenced to 24 months in prison in Kennebec County Superior Court on charges of burglary, stealing drugs and theft, according to a Morning Sentinel story.
In a second incident resulting in arrests on Newhall Street on Sunday, police received a call from the same section of the street at which Frappier had been arrested earlier. People in the neighborhood reported being threatened by two men over the telephone. The men said they were on their way to beat up a resident of one of the houses, Gould said.
Gould said police officers, along with Fairfield rescue and Clinton rescue, responded to the area and within minutes a car pulled up and two men jumped out. Gould said a fist fight ensued and James Beaulieu, 29, and Matthew Goldsmith, 31, both of Fairfield, were arrested on assault charges.
Beaulieu also was charged with violating conditions of release and was taken to jail. Goldsmith bailed from the police station.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter: @Doug_Harlow
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