A joint investigation by state police and the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department has resulted in the arrest of three juveniles and two adults and solved two burglaries in Exeter and a vandalism spree in Corinth.

The burglaries occurred recently at Farnham’s store on Valley Avenue in Exeter and the vandalism occurred earlier this month at the Corinthian Cemetery in Corinth.

Three of the suspects, John Wilcox, 19, and two boys, 16 and 15, all of Corinth, were arrested Monday night while they allegedly were in the process of burglarizing Farnham’s store for the second time.

According to Sgt. Glenn Ross of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department the three were dropped off at the store and broke in at about 9 p.m. They reportedly stole beer and cigarettes and were leaving the store when they saw a car pull into a dooryard across the street. The boys thought the car belonged to the two friends who had dropped them off and they ran over to get into the car.

An Exeter resident was in the car and the boys took off running into the woods, Ross said.

State police were notified and Trooper David Bowler responded to the scene. One of the trio was captured on the roadway by the owner of the store and Ross caught another one walking on Tibbetts Road.

Chris Carr, an off-duty police officer from Millinocket Police Department, was nearby and had a trained police dog with him. Carr offered to help and took the dog into a patch of woods near the store.

Police followed a trail of candy and cigarettes until they found a large pile of items that had been stolen from the store.

Bowler then found the third suspect who had been hiding in the woods, Ross said.

Authorities said that two suspects who were in the “escape car,” a juvenile whose address was unknown, and Ron Carr, 21, of Garland were arrested by Sgt. Ronnie Green of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday morning.

All of the suspects have been charged with burglary.

Ross said Farnham’s store was burglarized Friday night and lottery tickets, beer and cigarettes were stolen. Trooper Rick Fowler investigated that burglary. Ross said the burglary was significant and forced the store to close down for a few days. The store was closed Monday night when the second burglary occurred, Ross said. The store remained closed on Tuesday, Bowler said.

The 16-year-old boy from East Corinth who is suspected in the burglaries also has been charged with aggravated criminal mischief in connection with the vandalism spree in Corinth.

More than 30 headstones were damaged.

Ross said a second 16-year-old boy from East Corinth was also involved in the vandalism spree and would be charged. He said the two boys were “bored” and decided to destroy the headstones.

The town of Corinth had offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the vandals. Ross said the reward prompted several people to call with information. Those calls helped lead police to the two boys involved, and also helped lead police to the suspects in the Exeter burglary.