Three stores targeted in weeks

By VDC Staff

Middlebury police are investigating a series of burglaries in which thieves smashed into three local stores and stole entire ATM machines, ripping them from walls or through windows in what authorities describe as planned operations.

The incidents, all occurring overnight while the stores were closed, took place within roughly two weeks in March 2026 and have left damaged buildings boarded up. Middlebury Police Chief Jason Covey told WCAX that the cases are related, stating, “They know what they are doing and they do go in with a plan.”

The targeted stores (so far):

• Maplefields on Route 7 South
• Champlain Farms on Court Street (near downtown)
• Kinney Drugs (near downtown)

Maplefields Incident (March 10): Middlebury police logs published by the Addison Independent report that someone broke into the Maplefields store around 2:45 a.m. on March 10 and removed an ATM machine. A store employee, Helen Putnam, later described the damage to WCAX: “They literally ripped the doors and that piece of wall out.” She added that the theft was “very crazy, very… kind of scary, actually,” and said, “I think they need to be caught and put away.”

Champlain Farms Incident (March 22): Police were notified at 4:10 a.m. on Sunday, March 22, of a burglary at the Champlain Farms store on Court Street, according to the Addison Independent police log. This fits the pattern of the other ATM thefts reported in the spree.

Kinney Drugs Incident: Specific timing for the Kinney Drugs theft has not been detailed in public police logs released to date, but WCAX’s March 24 report included it as the third connected case in its coverage of all three incidents “in less than two weeks.”

In all cases, thieves smashed walls or windows to gain entry and hauled away the cash machines. Surveillance video captured some of the activity, but Chief Covey noted that “cameras are not positioned where we want, so there’s a lot of hours spent reviewing video evidence.” Police have not released footage publicly and have not identified suspects, determined how much cash was taken, or confirmed the number of people involved.

Possible Connection to Brandon Theft: The Middlebury incidents bear similarities to an August 2025 ATM theft in nearby Brandon, Vt., where thieves broke into a Champlain Farms convenience store around 4 a.m., smashed a glass window, and used a chain attached to a white Ford F-150 pickup truck to yank the ATM out through the glass. Surveillance video from that case, released by Brandon police, showed two suspects — one described as a bald man approximately 5′10″ to 6′ tall. No arrests were reported at the time, and police sought public help identifying the individuals.

All local news coverage originates directly from Middlebury Police Department reports and statements. The Addison Independent publishes periodic Middlebury police logs based on official PD incident reports, such as the March 19 log detailing the Maplefields burglary and the March 26 log for the Champlain Farms incident. WCAX’s March 24 story — the first to connect all three thefts — cites Chief Covey directly for investigative details and the relatedness of the cases, along with on-the-record comments from Maplefields employee Helen Putnam. Multiple other outlets have republished or linked to the WCAX reporting without adding independent details. The Brandon incident was also covered extensively by WCAX and local outlets with surveillance video.

Police continue to investigate the forcible entries and ask anyone with information to contact Middlebury Police at 802-388-3191. No arrests have been reported in the Middlebury cases, and authorities have not indicated whether the spree is ongoing beyond these three incidents or officially linked to the earlier Brandon theft.