Manchester Felon Arrested On Cocaine Possession, Stolen Allenstown Van Charges In Concord

CONCORD, NH — A felon from Manchester is facing new charges after being accused of driving a rental van reported stolen and possessing cocaine earlier this month.

Around 10 p.m. on Nov. 14, a detective and an officer were in the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot on South Main Street when they saw a U-Haul van driving toward Bow. The officer noted a few days before, Gregory Zieroff, 39, of Appleton Street in Manchester, as well as a woman in her early 30s, were believed to be suspects in an investigation of a stolen U-Haul van in Allenstown, according to an affidavit. A bulletin email sent to officers was reviewed and said the registration on the van was from Arizona. The report also stated Zieroff had active warrants out of Manchester for “drug-related offenses.”

The detective, who was driving, turned behind the vehicle, checked the plate with dispatch, and confirmed it was the stolen 2023 Ram 250 cargo van mentioned in the email. The reporting officer said the driver of the van turned around in the driveway of the Grappone Hyundai dealership on Route 3A in Bow and drove north. The driver then drove into Concord and pulled into the 7-Eleven on South Main Street. Police followed, shined a light into the van, and confirmed Zieroff and the woman were inside, an affidavit said.

Zieroff then began driving north on South Main Street to South State Street and then into a parking lot, according to the affidavit. The detective and officer approached the van and ordered the pair out. The woman was secured in handcuffs but released later and was not charged. Zieroff was also cuffed, the report said.

Dispatch confirmed Zieroff was wanted on sale of a controlled drug and two drug possession charges, all felonies, by Manchester police. His license was also suspended, according to a check, for default payment on Nov. 3.

“I read Gregory his Miranda Rights and he agreed to speak with me,” the officer wrote. “I asked if he knew his license was suspended and he told me that he didn’t.”

Zieroff was questioned about the rental van, which he said he planned on returning the next day, the report stated. When asked if he knew what happened when a late rental was not returned on time, “Gregory shook his head up and down, implying ‘Yes’,” the affidavit said.

“They report it,” he was accused of saying when asked but denied knowing it was stolen.

Another officer came to pick up Zieroff for processing.

During a search of a jacket pocket at police headquarters, the second officer accused him of possessing a clear plastic baggie containing a white, powdery substance believed to be cocaine. He was charged with receiving stolen property-$1,501-plus and possession of a controlled drug, both felonies, as well as transport drugs in a motor vehicle and operating with an expired license. Zieroff refused bail and was taken to the county jail.

The van, the reporting officer noted, was worth between $42,000 and $53,000.

Zieroff, according to superior court records and news stories, has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2009 when he was charged with seven felony aggravated felony sexual assault charges in Merrimack County Superior Court. In February 2011, a jury found him not guilty on one of the charges. In July 2011, the other six charges were nolle prossed, according to court records.

In July 2012 in Northfield, he was accused of receiving stolen property and habitual offender. He was formally charged in December 2012. Zieroff pleaded guilty a year later to the habitual offender charge and was sentenced to a year in jail, while also given six days of time served credit. In February 2014, a motion for an electronic monitoring bracelet was requested and granted. An amended sentence request was made and denied in June 2014.

Zieroff, in two separate incidents in Manchester in October 2018, was charged robbery, reckless conduct, and two counts of disobeying an officer, as well as felony in possession of a dangerous weapon. He was living in Epsom at the time. As part of a plea deal, the weapon, robbery, and a disobeying charge were dropped. Zieroff received a three-and-a-half to seven-year sentence on the conduct charge with a minimum of two years and six months, all suspended for five years. He also received a 12-month sentence, suspended for five years, on one of the disobeying an officer charges. Zieroff received credit for 92 days served. He also pleaded guilty to domestic violence stalking, drug possession, and resisting arrest in a separate case.

Zieroff also has two active drug possession and one sale, etc. of a controlled drug charge out of Manchester from Oct. 17, boundover to Hillsborough County Superior Court North.

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