BANGOR – Police charged two people this week in connection with a car burglary ring that has extended outside the city.

A third person who police believe is linked to the burglaries was arrested Tuesday on a probation violation and authorities said additional charges are expected, including some against a fourth participant.

Bangor police on Tuesday charged Melissa Corbett, 32, of Bangor with felony counts of theft and forgery while on Wednesday they charged Sarah Klinedinst, 30, of Bangor with two counts of theft and of receiving stolen property.

Shari Nakai, 30, of Bangor was arrested at the request of her probation officer Tuesday, said Detective Sgt. Jeff Millard.

Corbett and Nakai were captured by a video surveillance camera as they were standing in front of a store counter in Bangor when police said a stolen check was cashed, a picture made public last week by investigators in an effort to identify the women. Police also have a separate photo of Klinedinst taken as she was exiting a store.

Police believe the three are part of a four-member car burglary ring whose activity has reached into Old Town, where an elderly woman’s checkbook was taken from her motor vehicle and at least one check cashed. Police in other municipalities, including Orono and the University of Maine, have also reported car burglaries in recent months, suggesting to police that there are several groups out there.

Millard said that area detectives are working cooperatively to clear up burglary cases, sharing information, and haven’t fully assessed the extent of the burglaries that they have connected. But he estimates that there may be as many as two dozen incidents involving more than $1,000 so far.

It’s not clear what prompted these burglaries outside of the need for more money. And although authorities aren’t specifically identifying the incidents as drug related, they aren’t discounting the possibility.

“As the need for cash increases, the property crimes are going to increase,” Millard said.

Described by some as brazen, what has made some of the recent cases different from other car burglaries is that some have occurred during broad daylight and that the burglars are actually smashing windows to get inside.

In Orono, Detective Sgt. Robert Bryant said that in the past, burglars would get inside cars through unlocked doors, going from car to car. On April 7, burglars broke into a car left parked in an employee parking area at the Spotlight Cinemas, smashing a front window in order to get a purse left inside. That case is still under investigation.

Bryant also thinks that the burglars are more organized, not relying just on chance to find an open vehicle with valuables inside, but rather casing prospective vehicles and watching people to see if they leave a purse behind.

In light of the break-ins, hiding valuables under clothing in the car shouldn’t be considered a viable deterrence, authorities said.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize you are trying to cover something up there,” said Lt. Tim Reid, who heads Bangor’s detectives division.

Instead, authorities are recommending that even hiding valuables under seats isn’t safe and that any valuables be secured in the trunk. In addition, authorities are asking that anyone seeing anything suspicious should contact their local police.