Burglary Suspect Faces Numerous Charges In Bedford, Manchester

BEDFORD, NH — A Manchester man arrested last week faces charges in Bedford and the Queen City after multiple incidents starting during the summer, according to officials. After three burglaries occurred at Dunkin' Donuts locations in Bedford, the town's police department "enhanced burglary patrols in the community" in an effort to catch the involved party, according to Bedford Police Chief John Bryfronski. While outside of a gas station during the early morning hours of Nov. 28, an officer on White Avenue saw a Chevrolet Blazer parked with its lights off on Bellmore Drive.

The driver, seeing the officer, turned his vehicle's lights on and drove away. The officer, however, followed and stopped the vehicle. As the officer approached the vehicle, the driver, identified later as Travis Bruce, 38, of Manchester, reportedly sped away from the traffic stop.

Bruce allegedly fled northbound on Route 114 as Bedford police briefly pursued before abandoning the chase out of a concern for public safety as the SUV approached and entered Manchester, Bryfronski said.

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Investigators were able to build a case against Bruce and accused him of accessing a Dunkin' Donuts/Circle K location in town via a drive-through window. Cigarettes and lottery tickets were reportedly stolen.

Police learned Bruce was "known to other departments in the area" and was a suspect in other burglaries, too. A warrant was issued for his arrest and he was picked up by police in Manchester on Dec. 5, according to Bryfronski. Bruce was charged with burglary, disobeying an officer, driving after revocation or suspension, resisting arrest or detention, driving without giving proof, and reckless operation in Bedford.

The other burglaries, according to Heather Hamel, the public information officer for the Manchester Police Department, were two convenience store burglaries and the theft of a laundry machine in an apartment building.

"On Nov. 14, Bruce is believed to have broken into Heaven’s Gas with another man and took cigarettes and lottery tickets," she stated. "On Nov. 15, he is also believed to have broken into Mammoth Road Convenience and taken lottery tickets. Surveillance video from 7-11 showed a man trying to cash some of the stolen tickets. Police were able to ID Bruce from that image."

Also, in November, a laundry machine at the Brown School Apartments was ripped from the wall and stolen, she added, noting, "Bruce was charged with that as well." He also faces an unarmed robbery charge related to a safe stolen from an acquaintance's home, Hamel said.

Bruce, a convicted thief, is scheduled to be arraigned in Hillsborough County Superior Court-North on the charges.

According to reports on Patch, during the past few years, Bruce has been arrested and indicted on a number of charges including burglary, assault, receiving stolen property, theft by deception, theft by unauthorized taking, and attempted theft.

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Bedford and Manchester police departments and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the removal request process for New Hampshire Patch police reports.

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