Woman Faces 6 Charges After Downtown Concord Tip Jar Theft Spree

CONCORD, NH — Concord police believe they have the woman responsible for stealing a number of tip jars at Downtown Concord businesses during the past two months.

On Wednesday, police put out a Concord Regional Crimeline Crime of the Week alert requesting assistance identifying a woman caught on a security camera stealing a tip jar. The theft was one of several incidents at Dos Amigos Burritos, Capitol Craftsman Romance Jewelers, Siam Orchid, and the Granite State Candy Shoppe during January and February.

Around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, a possible suspect was spotted in the area of North Main and Pitman streets by a detective.

The detective spoke with the woman while calling for backup. Three times, she attempted to identify the woman, who claimed she was from Massachusetts and gave different names using the last name of “Walsh.” Dispatch, however, ran variations of the names, in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and was unable to find anyone with the names she gave.

“I figured, thank you,” the detective told dispatch.

After about 10 minutes, the detective told dispatch she believed the woman was the same wanted in the tip jar thefts.

“She’s not telling us who she is,” she said. “She is admitting to some of the thefts.”

They tried matching markings like tattoos and then, the detective decided to arrest her and bring her to headquarters to be interviewed.

Later, officers discovered her real name: Aviva Kollangi, 44, of Concord.

Kollangi faces five counts of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and a single count of attempted theft by unauthorized taking or transfer. She is due in Concord District Court for arraignment on March 28.

Kollangi was arrested in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, on drug possession as well as operating a vehicle without a license charges on April 26, 2021. At the time, she was listed as a Braintree, Massachusetts, resident.

Anyone who has information relative to any criminal incident is asked to call the Concord Regional Crimeline at 603-226-3100, or submit information online through the Crimeline website at concordregionalcrimeline.com, or text message TIP234 and your message to CRIMES (274637). Crimeline awards cash to anyone whose information leads to the arrest and indictment of criminals. All tips remain anonymous.

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.

Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel.