Stolen pickup case resolved in an hour Clerk’s quick action leads to suspect’s arrest

FORT KENT – Quick action by a store clerk and three law enforcement agencies Wednesday morning brought the arrest of a man who allegedly stole a pickup, and the recovery of the vehicle.

There little more than an hour between the report of the stolen vehicle and its recovery some 20 miles away in St. Agatha.

Sandra Thibodeau, a clerk at an Irving Mainway convenience store on Main Street, reported the theft at 6:10 a.m. By 7:20 a.m., a state police trooper and an agent of the U.S. Border Patrol had a man in custody, and the pickup had been recovered.

A man driving the yellow and black pickup had stopped at the convenience store. While the driver was inside, police say, Joel Landry, 46, of St. Agatha got into the truck and drove away.

Landry, according to Fort Kent Police Chief Kenneth Michaud, had earlier asked state police for a ride home to St. Agatha from Fort Kent. Some time later, Landry was seen in downtown Fort Kent.

Thibodeau told police she saw Landry get into the 1998 Ford pickup, which was parked in front of the store.

Michaud said Maine State Police Trooper Daniel Marquis and Border Patrol Agent Mark Albert found Landry at his home along Long Lake, just before 7:20 a.m. Michaud said the truck was just across the road from Landry’s home.

Michaud said Landry was being held Wednesday on a charge of theft of a motor vehicle. Landry is scheduled to appear in District Court at Fort Kent on Jan. 2.