Multi-Month Investigation Leads To A $6,000+ New Hampshire Liquor Store Thefts Arrest

CONCORD, NH — A 10-plus-week investigation of more than $6,000 in stolen liquor from around New Hampshire led to the arrest of one suspect and the identification of another by Concord and other police departments.

Chelsie Golan, 30, of Ruby Circle in Haverhill, Massachusetts, was arrested at 11:40 a.m. on Aug. 17 on a felony organized retail crime enterprise charge and a warrant. Rebecca Motta, 35, of New Bedford, MA, was identified as a suspect in the thefts. She is still at large.

Around 11:45 a.m. on June 8, police were sent to the New Hampshire state Liquor and Wine Outlet at Merchants Way for a report of a theft. An officer spoke to a manager who oversees several Merrimack County stores and noted “a rash of thefts” throughout the state involving the same two women who appeared to be working in concert. Together, they were accused of stealing more than $6,000 in alcohol from around the state.

Four thefts by the pair occurred in Concord — two at Storrs Street on June 4 and two at Merchants Way on June 7. In the June 4 case, the two suspects put $425.95 worth of liquor in bags and walked out; on June 7, it was $876.87, the store manager said.

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The officer eyed footage of the suspects and described one as a white woman in her mid-20s with a blonde wig that was badly attached to her head, while the second suspect appeared to be a white or Hispanic woman in her mid-20s to early 30s.

A Concord Regional Crimeline alert was posted June 8, which led “quickly” to “a plethora of tips,” including from one person who received a text message from Golan offering to sell the tipster “top shelf, unopened,” liquor, an affidavit stated. When the tipster asked Golan how she got the liquor, she was accused of texting back, “I know a guy.”

According to a court filing, a relative of Golan also contacted the Crimeline. The second suspect was identified as “Becca,” according to the family member.

Golan was interviewed on June 9 and admitted to stealing the liquor in all four Concord incidents, the report said. She also identified the second thief as Motta, one of her drug buddies, the affidavit said.

Golan fingered Motta as the organizer of the thefts, claiming she had a source in Lawrence, MA, a liquor mart, whose owner would buy the products at half price from her, the affidavit said. Golan also told the officer the pair was involved in many other thefts around New Hampshire, including Bedford, Hampton, Hooksett, Nashua, Pembroke, Portsmouth, and Seabrook, the report said.

“Chelsie told me that she did not realize that she stole more than $6,000 in alcohol until she saw ‘the post,’ referring to the Concord Crimeline bulletin,” she said.

Golan also claimed Motta had been “texting her, in an attempt to dissuade her from speaking with police and encouraged her to provide a false alibi on Rebecca’s name and current whereabouts,” the report said.

The affidavit said the officer eyed the text messages between them and verified them as coming from Motta’s phone. According to the report, Bedford police also obtained confirmation from the Massachusetts Board of Probation that the suspects were Golan and Motta — including acquiring recent booking photos from the Bay State.

The officer requested a search warrant of the T-Mobile account associated with the phone number believed to be Motta’s to confirm it was her number. The officer “reviewed the extensive call log record,” the report said. While the subscriber's name was not on the account, the officer said there were 33 calls between the number and Golan. The calls between the two stopped on June 10, the report said. The calls stopped altogether on the phone on June 14, the officer noted.

The officer stated another number, which had several calls connected to the line, was a 508 number associated with a relative of Motta’s.

The officer called the number, but it went straight to voicemail. The outgoing message, from “Rebecca,” requested people leave messages, and she would access them daily remotely, the officer stated.

On July 11, the Bedford officer confirmed one of the numbers in the search warrant was to the liquor store in Lawrence, MA, which backed up Golan’s resale accusation, the report said.

A few days later, the Concord officer contacted the Mass. Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission about the case, and it opened an investigation into the store.

On July 20, the Concord officer heard back from the commission source, stating the storeowner had denied the allegation. The commission contact said, “There was a section of the store where it appeared alcohol had been recently stored and moved from, but he was not able to prove any liquor store violations.” The store owner was “extremely nervous and sweating throughout the visit.” Other things Golan claimed, including the ethnicity and a physical disability the storeowner had, were confirmed during the interaction between the commissioner employee and the visit to the store, the report said.

The Concord officer also interviewed the storeowner and confirmed the accusations, but he “vehemently denied” buying any stolen alcohol. When shown surveillance footage of the pair, the storeowner denied knowing Golan but said the other suspect looked like Motta, who had been to the store in the past, according to an affidavit. He said her ex-husband was a regular customer, the report said.

In the report, the officer said they attempted to reach Motta “multiple” times, but she was accused of never answering or returning calls.

“I strongly believe she is being purposely evasive,” the officer noted.

Warrants were issued against both women on July 25.

After being arrested, felony charges were filed against Golan connected to cases in Manchester and New Hampton. She was arraigned in Merrimack County Superior Court on Sept. 7. Golan is due back in Belknap County Superior Court on Sept. 21 and Hillsborough County Superior Court North on Sept. 29 for arraignment. She is due back in Merrimack County Superior Court for a dispositional conference on Nov. 2.

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