The Mane State Police have charged a Gardiner man with stealing construction equipment from his employer and then selling the item to purchase drugs. 

According to Maine Department of Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland, troopers filed burglary and theft by unauthorized taking charges against Edward Robinson, 34, on March 2.  Robinson was charged at the Kennebec County Jail where he was being held on unrelated charges, McCausland said.

Trooper Elisha Fowlie said Robinson stole staging from a home under construction on Stone Gate Crossing in Chelsea and then sold the equipment, allegedly using the money from the sale to purchase heroin.

McCausland said that Robinson had been employed by Pepin Properties of Augusta, which was constructing the home.

The theft of the staging, valued at $3,500, was reported on Dec. 28 and McCausland said that the staging was recovered from a Gardiner business this week. McCausland said the Gardiner business had purchased the staging from Robinson for $900.

According to McCausland, Robinson, who was part of the construction crew building the house, allegedly took the staging after hours and then sold it.

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