By David Harry
Staff Writer

As he slid pizzas into the oven, Eight Corners Market owner Peter Walsh joked about the new open-door policy at his store at the intersection of Mussey and Gorham roads.
The policy was created because an Old Orchard Beach man attempted to make an unscheduled withdrawal of the store’s automated teller machine late Sunday night, according to Scarborough police.
Brian S. Andrews, 31, of Ross Road, was arrested Sunday night near the Prouts Neck Yacht Club after a car and foot chase by police officers involving a stolen truck carrying an ATM stolen from the market, said Sgt. John O’Malley.
O’Malley said Andrews has a history of felony convictions. He has been charged with burglary, theft, aggravated assault, aggravated criminal mischief, eluding and refusal to submit to arrest.
Police allege Andrews broke the market’s front doors before wrapping a chain around the ATM and pulling it out of the store with the truck. The burglary occurred just before 11 p.m.
As workmen repaired the door Monday morning, they pointed to a smashed section of wall inside the store indicating a first attempt to remove the ATM was unsuccessful.
“We had a bad guy in here last night,” said Walsh, who has owned the store for 15 years after it was opened by his parents in 1982. Walsh said he was notified late Sunday night about the burglary. He and his wife, Darlene, rushed to the store, which was closed for the night.
“It looked like a hurricane scene,” Darlene Walsh said of the store damage. As a new door was installed, the damaged frame and pieces of the ATM sat behind the store.
The couple said they and others were at the store until 2 a.m. boarding up the doors before opening at 5:30 a.m. Monday.
By that time, Andrews was at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland, where  he is being held on $10,000 cash bail with an anticipated court date this week.
According to O’Malley, a witness alerted officers to a truck seen driving away from the store, and the truck stopped almost immediately after Officer Michael Beeler drove past it on Gorham Road.
When Beeler approached the truck on foot, police said Andrews put the 2010 Ford F-250 he was driving in reverse and rammed the cruiser Beeler had been driving.
Beeler was unharmed, but the cruiser sustained about $3,500 of damage, O’Malley said.
Andrews then fled in the truck across Gorham Road to Black Point Road, O’Malley said, setting off a chase highlighted by sparks coming off the road as chains holding the ATM struck the pavement.
After a pursuit of about four miles, the truck struck a guardrail and Andrews allegedly fled on foot. He was discovered hiding in the water by rocks, police said.
Police said the initial investigation indicates the truck, worth $52,000, was stolen from an Auburn dealership.
While Scarborough officers wrapped up their investigation, Sanford Police Chief Tom Connolly said his officers are looking into a very similar burglary attempt about an hour before Eight Corners Market was burglarized.
Connolly said an alarm went off at the Depot Beverage Mart on Pleasant Street in Springvale at around 9:45 p.m. Sunday. Officer responding to the scene discovered the door had been broken and someone had tried to pull the ATM out using a chain. Although the attempt was unsuccessful, Connolly said beer and lottery tickets were stolen.
Connolly said no charges have been filed in the Springvale incident and the incident remains under investigation.

David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219 or news@scarboroughleader.com.