This wasn't your typical traffic stop

Robert Breton, of Milton, N.H., Timothy James, of Pembroke, N.H., Matthew W. Thompson, of Lebanon were all being held on high bail. (Maine State Police photos)

LEBANON, Maine - When State Police Trooper Connor Walton got a call to respond to Lebanon's Heath Road to check out an attempted theft of a shed that was being dragged down the road behind a white pickup truck, he said he figured there must be some misunderstanding with dispatch.

But there wasn't.

The bizarre scene unfolded Sunday afternoon at a foreclosed-upon property at 21 Pork St. when a neighbor of the address noticed three men working to dislodge the shed and apparently prepare it for transport on a wooden slab.

The homeowner didn't believe the men were authorized to be there, so they texted the former owner, who said no one should be on the property.

"I headed over there but figured there was some miscommunication," Walton said on Monday. "But there was a pickup driving down the road, chewing up the pavement and the shed."

When Walton arrived he found the 25-foot-long shed blocking half of Heath Road. It appeared the three men were preparing to drag it into the woods using a John Deere tractor. One of the suspects said they owned an acre behind a dirt path and that the shed owner had said he could have it.

Walton then contacted the owner, who said that wasn't the case.

Walton said he put the value of the shed at $3,000-$5,000, which made it a felony.

The three men were identified as:

Matthew W. Thompson, of Lebanon, charged with felony theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, possession of crystal meth and prescription drugs for which he had no prescription and reckless conduct.

Timothy James, of Pembroke, N.H., charged with theft by unauthorized taking, reckless conduct and criminal mischief.

Robert Breton, of Milton, N.H., charged with theft by unauthorized taking, reckless conduct and criminal mischief.

All three were being held at York County Jail on $5,000 cash bail.