In wake of mistrial, Rochester man reindicted in burglary spree

Daniel Sterritt (Rochester Police photo)

DOVER - A Rochester man whose recent trial in a string of area burglaries from 2014 ended in a mistrial, has been reindicted.

Daniel Sterritt, 47, of 23 Dodge St., was originally indicted on many of the same charges in January 2015.

The Strafford County grand jury September indictments now list nine burglary counts and one attempted burglary,

He has also been indicted by a York County grand jury for an alleged burglary in Lebanon on Oct. 17, 2014, the same day he and an accomplice are said to have broken into three homes in Durham and Dover.

The York County indictment lists Sterritt's home address as 29 Myrtle St., Somersworth. Another man, Sean Laughton, of 151 Indigo Hill Road, Apt 33, Somersworth, has been indicted along with Sterritt in both the Maine and New Hampshire burglaries.

The pair allegedly struck first on Oct. 15 when they are said to have broken into residences on Sixth Street, Dover; and Steppingstone Road, Lee.

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

Then on Oct. 17, the same day they are alleged to have burglarized the Lebanon residence, they also allegedly 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 are charged with attempted burglary at a residence on Governor's Road in Middleton.

Finally, on Oct 23, they are charged with burglary of a house on Betts Road in Rochester

The New Hampshire charges are all Class B felonies, which in this case list maximum sentences of 30 years each.

In Maine a Class B felony can result in a maximum of 10 years in state prison, but there are no immediate plans to bring Sterritt to Maine to face those charges while such hefty prison times are possible in New Hampshire. However, technically, there is a warrant out for his arrest, a York County Court clerk said today.

Sterritt is being housed at the Strafford County Jail on $10,000 cash, while Laughton is out on bail awaiting a review hearing on at least some of the burglaries next month.

An indictment is not an indication of guilt, only that a grand jury has decided there is enough evidence to move forward to trial.

Assistant County Attorney Alysia Cassotis, the prosecutor in the case, was not immediately available for comment on circumstances of the mistrial.