A former employee of Broadway Furniture in Bangor was arrested Friday morning after he allegedly stole a truckload of furniture.

Detective Butch Moor of the Bangor Police Department said Scott W. Reed, 21, of Unity was arrested after the truck got stuck in a driveway in Unity and aroused the suspicions of a tow-truck driver.

Moor said Reed had been an employee of Broadway Furniture but had not shown up for work for several days. Moor said Reed parked his car Thursday afternoon in the parking lot at the Broadway Shopping Center in Bangor and walked across the street to Broadway Furniture. Reed entered the building through a back door and crawled up into a loft, Moor said. He waited there until the store closed and then selected $45,000 worth of furniture and loaded it into a company truck that was parked inside the bay, the detective said.

At 11 p.m. Thursday, Reed drove out of the bay with the truckload of furniture and headed toward Unity, Moor said.

At about 2 a.m. Reed believed he was low on gas and decided to turn around to find a gas station. Moor said Reed did not realize that the truck had two reserve gas tanks that were full.

The truck became stuck in a ditch as Reed tried to turn it around and he was forced to call a tow truck to pull him out.

The tow-truck driver pulled the truck out, but later became suspicious and called Trooper Mark Nickerson who lives in the area. Later that morning Nickerson received word of a burglary at Broadway Furniture.

Nickerson waited for Moor and Detective Phil Moody to get to Unity and the three men went to Reed’s house and arrested him. The truck and the furniture was recovered and Reed was taken to Penobscot County Jail. Reed was charged with Class C burglary, Class B theft, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Reed was being held at the Penobscot County Jail Friday afternoon in lieu of $25,000 double-surety bail or 10 percent cash for the theft and burglary charges.

Moor said Reed was on probation for theft. Reed had been convicted of theft three or four times, according to Moor.

The furniture included three grandfather clocks, a couch, several living room chairs and dining room chairs.