Hanover Police apprehended a Thetford, Vt. resident a few hours after he was discovered rifling through the refrigerator of a West Wheelock Street student apartment at 1:05 a.m. on June 24. The alleged intruder, Macadam Mason, 36, has been charged with Class A burglary and has a long record of suspicious behavior, according to Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone.
Mason has had many past "encounters" with Hanover Police, Giaccone said, although this was the first time he had been caught inside a residence. Since 2007, Hanover Police received nine reports, mostly from females, of Mason loitering on their property, he said.
"He has some sort of fixation with the West Wheelock Street apartments," Giaccone said.
Mason was able to gain entrance into the apartment because the door had been left unlocked, according to Giaccone. Around 1:00 a.m., a friend of the apartment's residents came to visit, and discovered Mason in the kitchen.
When asked who he was and how he knew the residents, Mason muttered "everyone knows me," Giaccone said. With no further explanation, Mason then left the apartment.
After informing the apartment's residents of the occurrence, the friend offered Hanover Police a description of the subject that matched Mason in every detail, including a tattoo of a teardrop under his right eye, Giaccone said. Hanover Police then initiated a search.
Following the West Wheelock Street encounter, Mason proceeded to School Street, where he approached two females and reportedly "acted strangely," according to Giaccone.
One of the females complained to Hanover Police, who redirected their search, he said.
A Dartmouth Safety and Security officer on patrol spotted Mason about an hour and a half later, at which point Hanover Police apprehended the suspect, who was hiding in bushes in the backyard of a residence on the corner of Allen and Prospect Streets, according to a June 24 press release.
Class A burglary is a felony offense. Before Mason can be tried for the felony, a district court must hold a probable cause hearing to determine that there are reasonable grounds to believe both that the crime occurred and that it was committed by Mason, according to the New Hampshire Department of Justice.
In advance of the hearing at Lebanon District Court, a district court judge entered a not guilty plea on Mason's behalf, Giaccone said, adding that Mason could not enter the district court plea himself. Mason is currently being held at the Grafton County Jail, according to the press release.
A trial will likely be held sometime next year, Giaccone said.
Residents of the apartment declined to comment for this story.
