DAYTON — One resident returned to his home to find a man inside. Another reported that the family was at home when a man attempted to open the front door.

It was reports from those Dayton homeowners that helped Maine State Police crack a series of home burglaries in the York County area earlier this week, state police announced Thursday.

Troopers tracked down a Buxton couple when they learned a man was attempting to pawn suspected stolen jewelry. Police say the man was involved in 17 home burglaries in five municipalities, and that his girlfriend drove him to some of the burglaries. The couple’s 1- year-old baby was in the car during at least one of the crimes, according to police.

However, there appears to be no indication that the couple are tied to three burglary rings of rural York County homes that are being investigated by local law enforcement agencies, and police are asking residents to remain vigilant and report any signs of suspicious activity immediately.

Taken into custody and charged with 17 burglaries Wednesday was Shawn Swenson, 28, of Buxton, who remained at York County Jail this morning on $5,000 bail. He was to make his first court appearance this afternoon at Springvale District Court via video link from the jail.

Swenson’s girlfriend, Abigale Hall, 25, was also arrested and charged with four counts of burglary, and has a court date scheduled for April 8.

According to Maine Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland, Swenson admitted to burglarizing homes in Hollis, Dayton, Buxton and Saco in York County, and in Scarborough in Cumberland County.

Stolen were jewelry, tools, cash and marijuana. McCausland said some of the items were pawned, and police have been checking with area pawn shops to recover them.

The couple was charged after Maine State Trooper James Macdonald stopped Swenson’s vehicle on River Road in Buxton. Hall was driving, and Swenson was in the passenger seat. Also in the car was the couple’s 1-year-old baby. Troopers searched the vehicle and found jewelry stolen earlier in the day from a home on Pease Road in Buxton, McCausland said.

McCausland said police believe the burglaries were committed to feed Swenson’s alleged prescription drug habit.

Parts of York County, particularly rural areas west of the Maine Turnpike, have been wracked with daytime burglaries in recent months. There had been a two-week lull until Thursday, when a Cornish homeowner returned home to find a safe had been broken into, said York County Sheriff ’s Office Chief Deputy Tom Baran.

In the rural areas, thieves have been stealing tools and electronics, jewelry, cash and guns.

The York County Sheriff ’s Office has counted 32 burglaries since late October, and the Sanford Police Department said it has received reports of 15 in January alone, many in the more rural parts of the city. Both agencies say they’re following leads.

Baran said the sheriff ’s office is working with other law enforcement agencies to track down those responsible, and he urged homeowners to report suspicious activity immediately.

Police believe that for the most part, the burglaries are fueled by the quest for drugs – thieves break into homes and take whatever they can grab to sell for drug money.

“There’s some intelligence that they’re selling the firearms in Massachusetts for drugs,” said York County Sheriff Bill King in a prior interview.

King said there seem to be three burglary groups breaking into homes in the rural towns covered by the sheriff ’s office.

One group, he said, seems to concentrate on breaking into sheds and outbuildings, and has taken tools, generators, snowmobiles and chainsaws in Shapleigh, Parsonsfield, Acton, Waterboro and Newfield.

The second group concentrates on firearms and jewelry in burglaries in Shapleigh, Limington, Acton, Cornish and Waterboro.

The third group ransacks houses and steals miscellaneous items – electronics and cash in the form of change. This group has been hitting Acton, Shapleigh, Parsonsfield, Limington, Waterboro and Newfield, the sheriff said.

Police are urging residents to lock their vehicles and homes, including windows.

They also urge caution when answering the door to a stranger who might say they’re looking for a particular individual, or are lost and seeking directions. With mobile technology such as GPS, the incidents of someone truly being lost are rare, police say – and the person is really trying to find out if someone is at home.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.