Concord Career Criminal Accused Of 2 Dealership Burglaries

CONCORD, NH — A homeless felon now located in Concord with a long criminal history around the state is facing more felony charges accused of burglarizing two vehicle dealerships on Manchester Street.

Todd Michael Horstkotte, 50, homeless, theft by unauthorized taking-$1,501+, receiving stolen property-$1,501+, theft of lost-mislaid property, two prior convictions, and two burglary at night charges, all felonies, as well as criminal mischief misdemeanor charge.

Around 8 a.m. on Oct. 23, an officer was sent to Garvins Falls Road for a report of a suspicious vehicle.

The property manager of an apartment building found a brand-new dirt bike, a Yamaha 2500, behind a dumpster they had never seen before.

When the officer arrived, she saw a man attempting to move the dirt bike.

“I observed, right away, the bike was not running, and the male was not comfortable moving the bike,” she wrote in an affidavit.

The officer spoke to the man, Horstkotte, who was accused of saying he was waiting for a trailer to come to pick it up for a race in Loudon. He said it had no gas, the report stated. When asked for the registration, Horstkotte “did not know” where it was; when asked for the keys, “he did not answer.”

After a second officer arrived, Horstkotte was accused of changing his story, stating the bike did not belong to him, he saw the property manager with it, and wanted it, an affidavit stated. Horstkotte, she wrote, then began to walk away from the area.

A check of the vehicle identification number found it had been stolen from Freedom Cycle on Manchester Street. Horstkotte was found a few minutes later at Dunkin’ Donuts and he was handcuffed.

“I explained to Todd that the bike was stolen and he decided to stay with the story that he just saw the bike behind the dumpster,” the report said.

Later, during processing, the officer accused Horstkotte of being in possession of two credit cards belonging to other people as well as a GMC key.

According to police records, there was an alarm activation at Freedom Cycle around 12:30 a.m. The officer viewed video surveillance footage of the incident and found the suspect on video matched Horstkotte, the affidavit stated.

The bike, according to Freedom Cycle, was valued at $9,118. About $200 damage was done to the bike, according to the dealer.

A Second Burglary Hours Before

At around 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 23, the officer working the Freedom Cycle case was called to Banks Chevrolet to investigate a burglary there the night before, according to a second affidavit.

The dealership reported to police that multiple items were stolen with dispatch saying the description of the suspect matched Horstkotte. The officer spoke to the manager who stated an employee mistakenly let a man into the building, who said he was dropping off parts, and walked past him.

The manager said the suspect rummaged through desks and other items, and took customer motor vehicle keys from the building. He later left with a GMC Sierra. The officer, noting the key she accused Horstkotte of being in possession of earlier, showed it to the manager. The manager stated the key was one that was missing.

Later that day, while back at the Garvins Falls apartment building, a second officer while working with a property manager, found keys inside a hole in the wall of a hallway in the building. Some of the keys had Banks Chevrolet tags, the report said.

On Oct. 25, police were able to identify the stolen vehicle as a 2016 GMC Sierra Crew Cab valued at around $40,000. Later that day, an officer found the vehicle at an auto shop on South Main Street. The vehicle had damage to the front and rear driver’s side tires, which were flat, and the rims showed heavy damage. The inside of the vehicle was soaked with water, including the cup holders, which were full of water.

Video footage from the auto shop showed a man, matching Horstkotte, getting out of the GMC with what appeared to be a laptop, according to an affidavit. The time stamp on the video was about an hour after video footage tracked the suspect at Banks.

Another employee at Banks accused Horstkotte of making a phone call from one of the sales agent’s desk in the video and sent police a screenshot of the phone number from the display panel of the phone, the report said. A search was requested on the phone and it was found to be connected to a man, the report said. The officer called the number and spoke to a woman who confirmed she was Horstkotte’s mother, the affidavit stated.

Prior Criminal History

Horstkotte, according to superior court records and posts on Patch, has a long criminal history.

Back in August 2001, he pleaded guilty to a robbery charge out of Bedford and a felony theft charge out of Nashua. He pleaded guilty to felony attempt out of Amherst in June 2007 and simple assault out of Concord in August 2007. He pleaded guilty to felony theft by deception out of Concord in May 2013 and violation of probation or parole and felony theft by unauthorized taking out of Concord in June 2014.

In November 2017, Horstkotte pleaded guilty to felony controlled drug act: acts prohibited charge after facing three charges out of Concord as well as a violation of probation or parole charge. He pleaded guilty to two more felony drug possession charge out of Concord in November 2018 as well as a felony theft charge out of Franklin.

Last year, he was accused of felony theft in Derry. That charge is still active in Rockingham County Superior Court. He was also accused of several burglary, attempted burglary, receiving stolen property, and theft charges out of Concord, 10 in all. Those cases, too, are still active. Horstkotte also faces theft and unsworn falsification charges out of Tilton from Oct. 7.

Other charges he has faced include sale of narcotics, drug possession, bail jumping, simple assault, criminal trespass, vandalism, and numerous warrants.

Horstkotte is due back in Merrimack County Superior Court on Jan. 27 for a dispositional conference on the most burglary and other charges.

Other Burglaries

Police around New Hampshire have been tracking motorcycle burglaries for months.

Freedom Cycle was burglarized a month before. In April, two people were arrested after a two-year investigation into motorcycle and home burglaries in both New Hampshire and the Bay State.

Back in May, five Kawasaki dirt bikes were stolen from Naults Powersports in Windham.

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

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