Stolen plates lead police to burglary suspect

LACONIA — Two stolen dealer plates discovered in one night led police to identify one of three men who allegedly admitted to burglarizing an auto repair shop in Belmont and who allegedly stole a trailer from a Laconia business last week.

Scott Angers, 21, formerly of Union Avenue, is charged with two counts of receiving stolen property, as well as one count of criminal trespass, one count of driving after suspension – subsequent offense, one count of conduct after an accident and breach of bail from two different incidents in early November, both of which had some bearing on his arrest.

Police affidavits obtained from the Belknap County Superior Court said that an officer on regular patrol noticed a white minivan that was in the parking lot of Cumberland Farms on Court Street early Friday morning that was suspected to be involved in an hit-and-run crash there on Nov. 11. He said the minivan had a dealer plate he recognized as one that had been listed as stolen by a different officer who filed the report on the earlier hit-and-run.

The officer said as he walked by the minivan, he noticed a black truck with a trailer parked on the side of the building and the driver standing outside who he later identified as Angers. The officer asked Angers if he knew who was driving the white minivan and he said he was "with the minivan" and was moving a friend to Rumney.

When the officer walked behind Angers's truck, he noticed a repair plate that had been reported stolen earlier in the week from a Belmont auto repair shop.

The officer arrested Angers and charged him with one count of receiving stolen property, which was a trailer reported stolen from Laconia, and one count of driving after revocation – subsequent arrest.

Affidavits said Angers requested that his backpack, which was in the truck, be brought to the police station with him. Before placing the bag in his cruiser, the officer conducted an inventory search and found two zipped pouches, one of which contained items from the Belmont auto shop that included temporary blank registrations and inspections stickers. Police said the other pouch included a check book for the business and other items.

When the officer notified his sergeant about the items, he learned that a Belmont officer was coming to speak with Angers about the burglary and that the trailer attached to his truck had been reported stolen from a Laconia business.

During his interview with police, affidavits said Angers was read his rights but agreed to speak without a lawyer. He told police that he and two others were involved in the Belmont burglary and that they took tires, welding gas, tools and other equipment.

He also told police, according to affidavits, that he and one of the people who was with him in Belmont, also stole the trailer they said they found near Gilbert Block. He told them that they started looking around the area for other things they could steal.

During his interview, Angers also told him the other man he was with had been carrying a weapon and that he thought it was still in his truck. Police said an inventory search was done on the truck before it was towed and that when they found the gun, the search was stopped until police could get a warrant.

Angers was initially held on cash bail but is no longer at the Belknap County House of Corrections.