Arrests made in Peterborough car thefts
Jun. 28—PETERBOROUGH — Two Peterborough men were charged in connection with a pair of vehicle thefts last week, when one of the vehicles, a new Jeep, was found at a Greenfield pond's boat launch, police said.
Branden M. French, 18, faces charges of theft by unauthorized taking, breach of bail, criminal trespass, criminal liability for the conduct of another and operating without a license (subsequent offense), according to a news release posted by Peterborough police Saturday.
Antonio M. Brito, 22, is charged with theft by unauthorized taking, criminal trespass and criminal liability for the conduct of another.
Both are being held at the Valley Street Jail in Manchester with an arraignment scheduled for June 28.
On June 21, an officer was called to a house on Currier Avenue around 5:45 a.m., where a resident said a 2021 Jeep Gladiator was taken from the driveway sometime overnight, Peterborough Police Chief Scott Guinard said last week.
Shortly after, at 7:30 a.m., a Maine woman who was visiting family on Hall Court, which intersects with Currier Avenue, reported her 2012 Mazda missing.
Authorities located that vehicle on Burke Avenue within an hour, Guinard said. The Jeep was also found shortly after the reports were made, submerged at the Powder Mill Pond boat launch in Greenfield, the news release said.
"The black Mazda did not appear to be damaged, but the Jeep, in all likelihood, is a total loss," Guinard said.
French and Brito were arrested after a weeklong investigation in connection with both car thefts and other related charges, police said.
