Windham man charged with series of business-related trespasses

Police arrested a Windham man Thursday and charged him with nine robberies targeting businesses in Portland, South Portland and Westbrook over the last month.

Authorities say Joseph Cole Jr., 37, may be charged with several more robberies in surrounding towns, and several co-conspirators may also be charged. Surveillance video released earlier by one business clearly showed two suspects removing the cash register from the restaurant.

joseph cole Courtesy of South Portland Police Department

South Portland Police Detective Jeff Levesque and members of the Windham Police Department found Cole at his Windham home Thursday morning and arrested him.

“Cole was charged today in a total of nine robberies that occurred in South Portland, Portland, and Westbrook,” South Portland Police said in a statement. “Cole is believed to be involved in several robberies in other surrounding towns as well. Charges will be forthcoming in these cases. The investigation is ongoing and multiple robberies are being committed. The co-conspirators will be indicted.”

Cole was charged with six counts of robbery at the Blue Lobster clothing store in Portland on December 17th. Coffee by Design on December 30th. Rosemont Market and Bakery on December 30th. December 31st, Cocktail Bar LFK. Rusty Lantern Market on January 13th. Police Department spokesman Brad Nadeau said in a statement that the incident took place on Jan. 14 at Pat’s Meat Market.

Cole also faces a theft charge, Nadeau said.

South Portland police charged Cole in the Dec. 25 robbery at Taco Trio and the Jan. 2 robbery at the Buena Vista Filipino Food Market.

Westbrook police did not respond to questions about the location of the commercial robbery or whether Cole was a suspect.

He was arraigned Thursday night at the Cumberland County Jail on $3,500 cash bail.

Earlier this month, Portland police and South Portland police announced they were investigating a series of potentially related robberies.

Taco Trio and Buena Vista Filipino Market shared images of the suspect on social media and asked people to provide tips. These stores are approximately 5 km apart. One surveillance video shows two robbers inside the Taco Trio. The two appear to be removing cash registers from restaurants.

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