Second suspect in rash of Rochester, New Durham thefts sentenced

Anthony Hood (Rochester Police photo)

DOVER - A transient with ties to Milton, who with his brother and two others were indicted a year ago in a slew of New Durham house burglaries, was sentenced to two to four years in state prison on Monday.

Anthony Hood, 25, had pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary in connection with the New Durham break-ins and one count of receiving stolen property for possessing items stolen from a Rochester residence.

He received the two to four year sentence for the burglaries and a three and a half to seven year prison sentence suspended for five years upon release on the receiving stolen property charge.

Among the other three suspects in the case, John Laflesh of 764 Upper Guinea Road, Lebanon, Maine, awaits a January sentencing, Hood's brother, Steven Hood, 28, of 492 White Mountain Hwy, Milton, has a warrant out for him after ending his Community Corrections supervision and Rachelle Kimball, 37, of Pebblestone Lane, Rochester, reached a plea deal in February.

From left, Anthony Hood, Steven Hood and Rachelle Kimball (Rochester Police photos) and John LaFlesh (Somersworth Police photo)

Most of the burglaries took place in August in the area of Meaderboro Road and Ten Rod Road.

"They were pretty well organized and had been doing it for a while in the area," New Durham Police Chief Shawn Bernier said soon after the four were indicted.

Bernier said a big break in the case came after one of the homeowners provided surveillance video of the suspects in action, while another break occurred after officers came upon two men who were later developed as suspects allegedly acting as lookouts for the others.

Court documents allege that Kimball, in concert with the Hood brothers and LaFlesh, did at least one of the following: agreed to drive to the area of Ten Road Road, New Durham, acted as a lookout, had a false story prepared if someone was home at the residence; and that then LaFlesh and Steven Hood entered the residence; and that LaFlesh and Steven Hood took items from the house.

Bernier said most of the houses were unoccupied at the time of the alleged burglaries, but not all.

Some of the items stolen included laptops, silver coins, cash and electronics, Bernier said, adding that one residence that apparently yielded little in the way of loot was completely trashed with holes put in the walls and broken glass everywhere.

After an investigation that lasted about a month, police were able to develop enough evidence to obtain arrest warrants for the four suspects.