City man gets 7 1/2-15 years in 2014 burglary spree

Daniel Sterritt (Rochester Police photo)

DOVER - The Rochester man responsible for the most notorious burglary spree in the region in recent history is waking up in state prison today after being sentenced to seven and a half to 15 years on Thursday.

Daniel Sterritt, 48, of 23 Dodge St., was originally indicted on most of the charges in January 2015, but after a mistrial was declared in his first trial, he was indicted again last September. He pleaded guilty in April as part of a plea deal.

"This was the biggest burglary spree that I can think of in the last 10 years," Strafford County Attorney Tom Velardi said on Thursday.

Sterritt was sentenced at Strafford County Superior Court for his involvement in 12 burglaries that occurred in the fall of 2014, many of them with accomplice Sean Laughton of Somersworth.

Sean Laughton (Somersworth Police)

Velardi said the prison sentence, which was for six of the burglaries, will be followed by a 10-20 year sentence - suspended for 20 years - for the other six.

Sterritt still faces trials in Maine for three burglaries committed there, including one in Lebanon on Oct. 17, 2014, the same day he and Laughton broke into three homes in Durham and Dover.

Laughton pleaded guilty to the burglaries about a year ago, Velardi said.

Sterritt, meanwhile, had been held at Strafford County Jail for three years since his arrest on $10,000 cash bail.

The pair struck first on Oct. 15, 2014, when they broke into residences on Sixth Street, Dover; and Steppingstone Road, Lee.

On Oct 16, they hit homes on Stagecoach Road, Liberty Lane and Parker Mountain Road, all in Barrington

Then on Oct. 17, the same day they burglarized the Lebanon residence, they also broke into homes in Durham, on Durham Point Road and Deer Meadow Road; and a house on Middle Road in Dover.

On Oct 21 they were charged with attempted burglary at a residence on Governor's Road in Middleton.

And on Oct 23 they burglarized a house on Betts Road in Rochester

Velardi said many strong impact statements from the victims of the burglaries were heard prior to sentencing on Thursday.

"It's a good sentence," he said.