Thieves caught stealing Hartland tannery copper

The Somerset County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a burglary in progress from a Tasman Leather Group employee who noticed an open garage door to the company’s annex building and three males inside.

One of the males ran out of the building and away before police arrived, but the other two were still in the annex building, a building generally used for storage.

“The annex building has not been in active use for quite some time,” said Detective Lt. Carl Gottardi II of Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, who also referred to the company as Irving Tannery. “The employee went over there to retrieve something and noticed people inside who shouldn’t have been.”

Both males are 17-year-olds from Hartland, Maine. The third male who fled is being sought by police.

“We are actively investigating to determine the identity of the person and the role they played in the theft,” said Gottardi.

Gottardi said burglaries like this one, even in broad daylight, are occurring more and more often.

“We’ve had an issue with it for years, but over the last year especially as the prices of metals keep going up, especially copper,” Gottardi said. “We’re seeing a lot more incidents like this.”

The tanning company, formerly known as Irving Tanning and later as Prime Tanning, produces finished leather. It was established in 1920 and is the largest employer in Hartland with approximately 150 employees. After filing for bankruptcy in 2010, Prime was reorganized and bought by Tasman Leather Group LLC. in 2011. Tasman Leather Group specialises in producing premium quality side leather for the US military.