Crime & Safety

Woman Confronts Stranger Found Inside her Van

The man ran off, but was caught a short time later by police, and charged with theft.

Jeremy Locke, 32, of Nashua, was arrested Jan. 23 after allegedly taking items from a car parked outside the Nashua Public Library.

Locke is charged with theft by unauthorized taking, a class B felony; and receiving stolen property, a class A misdemeanor.

On January 23 police responded to the Nashua Public Library at about 10:30 a.m. for a report of a theft from a motor vehicle. The owner of the vehicle told police she had left her minivan in the parking lot, unlocked, and as she returned to the van she saw a man inside her van. She confronted the man, who fled on foot.

Find out what's happening in Nashuawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The woman discovered some items were missing from her van. She gave police a description of the suspect, who was located by patrol officers a short distance away, and was identified as Locke. Further investigation supported Locke was responsible for the theft. A records check showed that Locke has two prior theft related convictions which upgraded the misdemeanor level charge to a class B felony, police said.

A class B felony is punishable by up to seven years imprisonment in the New Hampshire State Prison, exclusive of fines. A class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in the County House of Corrections, exclusive of fines. Locke is being held at the Nashua Police Department on a $5,000 cash or surety bail pending an upcoming arraignment at the 9th Circuit Nashua District Division Court on January 24th, 2013.

Find out what's happening in Nashuawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Police remind the public to lock vehicles when unattended and remove valuables from plain view to reduce the risk of theft.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.