By Jen Claise
Staff Writer

Police have arrested two men they say could be part of a string of daytime burglaries in several area towns, including Bedford, and say that more arrests are expected. Thousands of dollars’worth of stolen property have been recovered.

Working with area departments, Goffstown police arrested Bryan Benham, 20, at his apartment at 245 Lowell St., Manchester, on Friday, Dec. 10. He’s also listed at 72 Turnpike Road, Allenstown, said state trooper Matt Partington.

RECOVERED – New Hampshire State Trooper Detective Matt Partington, Pembroke Detective Sgt. Dwayne Gilman, and Chichester police Lt. Robert Kitson stand next to the stolen property recovered from Randy Brasseau’s truck when he was arrested. The property from the truck as well as the other 400 to 500 pieces of recovered property from Allenstown is at the Pembroke Safety Center as the police identify the proper owners of the stolen items. (Jodi Wolfe Photo)

Randy Brasseau, 34, of 49 River Road, Allenstown, was arrested on Friday, Dec. 10, by New Hampshire State Police while driving through Manchester in his truck, which allegedly contained stolen goods. He was arrested on felony charges, including receiving stolen property, said Partington. There was also a warrant out for Brasseau’s arrest.

Brasseau was arraigned in Manchester District Court on Monday, Dec. 13, on three charges of receiving stolen property and one charge of conspiracy to receive stolen property. According to court documents, Brasseau conspired to take the stolen items from the Lowell Street apartment and bring them to another location.

Brasseau has a history of receiving stolen property. He was convicted on that charge both in 1991 and 1993.

He was released from the Valley Street Jail after posting the $7,500 bail. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for Monday, Dec. 27.

The men could be linked to recent burglaries in Goffstown, Bedford, Allenstown, Weare, Pembroke, New Boston, Dunbarton, Epsom and Chichester. Items were taken from homes in secluded areas, said Pembroke Detective Sgt. Dwayne Gilman.

According to Goffstown District Court documents, Benham is most recently suspected of a burglary on Tibbetts Hill Road reported Thursday, Dec. 9. Residents there said several items were stolen from the home, including a 3-foot-long sword with a copper-colored handle, two axes, a knife, a shotgun, two flat-screen monitors, a computer and a DVD player.

Police canvassed the area, where several residents reported seeing a suspicious older-model black four-door vehicle on the road.

They were able to trace Benham to the Manchester apartment after receiving a tip from the department’s Crimeline, when the caller reported seeing three white males and a white female unloading guns, swords, knives and other weapons from the trunk of a black Ford Crown Victoria into the first-floor apartment, which Benham shares with several other people.

Ultimately, Goffstown and Manchester police compared notes and got a search warrant for the 245 Lowell St. address, where they found Benham. According to court documents, he allegedly confessed to the Tibbetts Hill Road burglary and led police to several of the stolen items that were still in the apartment. However, police did not find the stolen weapons from that burglary, though they did recover other weapons.

Benham also allegedly confessed to a recent burglary in Epsom, where a Dell computer and a gun safe full of rifles were stolen.

Through Benham’s arrest and recovered property from the Manchester apartment, police were able to make a connection to the burglaries in the Pembroke area. Among the recovered property were firearms that had been taken from Epsom, said Allenstown police Lt. Shaun Mulholland.

Police linked Benham to a crime ring centered around the Manchester apartment, said Gilman. Benham used to live in Allenstown, which led police to arrest Benham’s friend, Brasseau.

Bedford police joined in the search and said they may have identified items from recent Bedford burglaries. The items may be recovered as more search warrants are granted, police said.

But Goffstown Detective Sgt. John Tuthill is reluctant to link Benham and his group to all the recent burglaries in the area, because the style of the Tibbetts Hill Road burglary was different from the ones before it.

Court documents state burglars did significant damage to the Tibbetts Hill Road home, where a glass door was smashed and several items in the home were strewn about.

But in other recent burglaries, the thief or theives have often entered through an unlocked door, taken valuables and left with hardly any destruction.

Benham was charged with burglary, a Class A felony, because a firearm was allegedly stolen from the Tibbetts Hill Road home. He was arraigned before Judge Michael J. Ryan and ordered held at the Valley Street Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 21.

On Saturday, Dec. 11, at approximately 9:45 p.m., Allenstown police put out two search warrants for 72 Turnpike and 47 River Roads and found thousands of dollars of stolen property as well as seven marijuana plants.

Allenstown police were assisted by Epsom, Chichester, Bedford and the state police in seizing the 400 to 500 pieces of stolen property.

Most of the property was found at 47 River Road in a storage trailer. While Brasseau’s mother lives at that address, Gilman said she is not involved in the crime ring and didn’t give the police any information.

The recovered property, including tools, swords, rugs, stereo equipment, generators, as well large amounts of electronic and construction equipment, was moved to Pembroke police station for examination. The police are not sure of the criminals’ intentions for the stolen goods, said Gilman.

There are currently arrest warrants out for two more members of Brasseau and Benham’s crime ring and more are expected to follow, Mulholland said.

“This should allow us to solve a lot of burglaries,” said Mulholland.

The police are working on identifying the owners of the recovered property. Some of the property possibly could be from Oklahoma, Gilman said.

Anyone with missing property should contact their local police department to set up an appointment to view the recovered property at the Pembroke Safety Center, said Gilman.

Anyone with information in the ongoing investigation can contact New Hampshire State Police Troop D at 271-3333, or their local police department.