Man arrested on multiple burglary, drug charges in New Hampshire

SALEM, N.H. — Police in Salem, N.H. arrested a man on Friday on multiple charges stemming from a pair of alleged burglaries that took place earlier that day, according to a release from the town’s police department.

Law enforcement took Benjamin Hesselink into custody after a woman whose house was allegedly burglarized positively identified Hesselink to police.

The victim told officers that she saw a grayish-brown vehicle pull into her driveway on Friday afternoon before a loud noise in her basement drew her attention.

Then, the victim stated, she opened the door to the basement stairs and saw an unknown bearded man of small stature approaching her wearing a black hat, shorts and black sweatshirt. The suspect allegedly fled to his car and drove off after the victim yelled at him to leave.

Police were called to the scene around 3:15 p.m.

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Detectives learned during their investigation that the suspect probably had cut his legs climbing through a broken window. Police lifted DNA evidence from the scene in the form of fingerprints and blood samples.

Later Friday evening, law enforcement was called to a Cash for Gold store located in the town. There, police learned from the shop’s clerk that two people – including Hesselink – were allegedly attempting to sell a large amount of jewelry, which the employee thought may have been stolen.

Police also noticed that Hesselink had multiple cuts on his legs.

When officers later took Hesselink to the victim, she identified him as the alleged burglar and matched his vehicle to the one that pulled into her driveway earlier. Hesselink was then placed under arrest.

Police also received a call for a second burglary in the town. That victim said large amounts of jewelry had been taken from the home and later identified jewelry found in Hesselink’s possession as his/hers.

Police executed a search warrant on Hesselink’s vehicle the following day. During their search, officials allegedly found a large quantity of jewelry, drug paraphernalia – including hypodermic needles – and a bag of pills identified as Lorazepam.

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Hesselink was subsequently charged with two counts of burglary, resisting arrest, possession of drugs, transporting drugs in a motor vehicle, and receiving stolen property. Salem Police are still investigating the matter.

Cox Media Group