VIENNA – The owner of a machine shop where thieves stole $3,000 worth of scrap steel, iron and aluminum wasn’t going to let it happen again.

After Saturday night’s theft, Joseph Lord loaded his shotgun and laid low, expecting the thieves to return.

In broad daylight early Tuesday, as Lord checked on his shop for the third time that morning, he spotted a blue pickup truck parked near the building with some of his scrap metal loaded in the bed.

That’s when Lord opened fire on the 2008 F-250 pickup truck, shooting out its tires and windshield and blasting its radiator, Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty said.

The startled thieves took off on foot, but investigators quickly tracked down the truck’s operator, Elizabeth Evans of Mount Vernon, who will be charged with theft, Liberty said. Charges are pending against an accomplice, the sheriff said.

Liberty said he discourages the use of guns to protect property. In this case, Lord told investigators he wanted to disable the vehicle so the criminals couldn’t escape.

“I can understand the frustration that Mr. Lord must have been experiencing,” Liberty said. But, he added, “We don’t want to see anyone get hurt over property.”

“I think I did the town a favor,” Lord said.