SALEM, N.H. — A Derry man connected to a series of car break-ins in the Williams Street neighborhood last month was arrested and charged Wednesday following a police pursuit out of Massachusetts.
The man, identified as Scott Marshall Sullivan Jr., 34, whose last known address was in Derry, was found in possession of a police-issued AK-15 rifle stolen from the vehicle of an off-duty Hampton police officer at his home on Williams Street.
About 1 p.m. Wednesday, the Salem Police Department received a call about a vehicle pursuit coming into Salem from Methuen, police said. The chase started from a home on Phillips Street in Lawrence. When officers arrived at the home, the suspects fled, leading police across state lines in pursuit of a Hyundai Santa Fe.
The Methuen Police Department and Massachusetts State Police pursued the vehicle in the area of Hampshire Road in Salem when it turned onto Cross Street, nearly striking a Salem police cruiser head on.
Salem police joined the pursuit, following the vehicle onto Cluff Crossing Road and Route 28 where the vehicle crashed on the rail trail.
Sullivan and his passenger, Sarahann Jacobs, 27, homeless, fled on foot and were quickly apprehended by police.
The pursuit stemmed from an ongoing investigation involving vehicle break-ins in Salem on June 17. The Police Department received multiple early morning reports from residents on Williams Street and Garrison Road that their vehicles were broken into overnight, according to police records.
One report came from the home of Hampton police officer Jay Pappalardo who reported that his police-issued AK-15 was stolen out of his vehicle. Salem police deployed a K-9 unit to search the neighborhood to no avail.
The Hampton Police Department declined to comment on Pappalardo’s employment status as a result of the theft.
At the time of his arrest, Sullivan was out on bail for several theft-related incidents in Salem, as well as a charge of resisting arrest, police said. He is being charged with reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, a felony; disobeying an officer, resisting arrest, operating after suspension for DUI, contempt and breach of bail, misdemeanors; and a reckless operation violation.
He is being held without bail at the Rockingham County jail pending his arraignment in Salem on Thursday.
Sullivan will also be arraigned on active warrants from Rockingham Superior Court. He may also face charges in Massachusetts.
Jacobs was charged with resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, and released on personal recognizance. She will be arraigned at a later date in Circuit Court in Salem.
This incident remains under investigation.