A Lincoln man went to the service desk at the Bangor Wal-Mart recently hoping to locate his girlfriend; instead, he found the police there waiting for him.

Jeremy Hunter, 22, was one of three people Bangor police wanted in connection with a series of thefts at Wal-Mart and Target stores.

Wal-Mart employees had already taken one man, Charles Fling Jr., 25, a transient, into custody after he walked out of the store with two pairs of pants he didn’t pay for, according to the police report. A second person, Hunter’s girlfriend, was found by Bangor police Officer Jason Stuart as she hid between two cars in the store’s parking lot.

The woman, Danielle Berube, 28, a transient, was wearing boots and carrying clothing she later admitted she had stolen from Target, police said.

Hunter wound up in custody after he had Berube’s name paged on the store’s intercom and Stuart went to investigate. Police said Hunter was not only wanted on a warrant, but had hidden two video games and an iPod cable in the crotch of his pants.

Berube was wanted on a warrant, was charged in the theft from Target and for criminal trespassing, police said. She had been banned from stepping foot in the Wal-Mart store in October after she was arrested for shoplifting. Fling was charged with theft.

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A Dexter resident reported Monday to police that someone had entered his home on Route 23 and taken a safe, guns and several jewelry items.

The man came home at about 3 p.m. to find the open safe in a ditch near his house. When he went inside, he discovered additional items missing, including three guns, three diamond rings, a watch, a hunting bow and a camcorder.

Dexter police did not have any suspects as of Tuesday.

– Compiled by BDN reporters Eric Russell and Doug Kesseli