Goffstown Man Gets Truck Back After Leaving Keys Inside

MANCHESTER, NH — A local man, with the help of family members and Queen City police, is probably breathing a sigh of relief today after he left his keys in an unlocked vehicle and Manchester man allegedly stole it.

Kevin Gearhart, 48, of Lake Avenue in Manchester, was arrested on July 18, 2016, and charged with receiving stolen property.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Manchester Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

According to police, at around 4:15 p.m. yesterday, a Goffstown man reported to police that his Ford Ranger pickup truck had been stolen from the parking lot of the SNS Convenience on South Mammoth Road.

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The victim – a man in his late 50s – told police that he left his keys inside of his unlocked truck when he entered the store. When he left the store, the truck was gone.

As police searched for the truck, family members, including a niece of the victim and her husband, Dunbarton residents, searched for it, too. They later found driving over the Bridge Street Bridge and called police. Two men were reportedly inside the vehicle, according to Lt. Brian O’Keefe of the Manchester Police Department.

The family members followed the vehicle to Parker Street and then South Main Street after it stopped at the 7-Eleven. When police arrived, they found the vehicle unoccupied but located Gearhart and another man inside the store. An officer allegedly found Gearhart in possession of the keys to the pickup truck and he was arrested and held.

Gearhart was arraigned this morning. The vehicle was not damaged so the victim took possession of his truck after the arrest, according to O’Keefe.