BY TIMOTHY LAROCHE
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NEWPORT — A Claremont man with a laundry list of convictions to his name was sentenced this week to serve at least four years, with the possibility of serving an additional eight in prison.
Ethan Meyette, 26, pleaded guilty to theft by unauthorized taking, delivery of articles prohibited, resisting arrest and arson in Sullivan County Superior Court on Wednesday.
He was sentenced by Judge Brian Tucker to two to five years in New Hampshire state prison for stealing several items from Emma’s Market and Deli and for being in possession of alpha-PHP while at the Sullivan County House of Corrections, to be served concurrently.
He was sentenced to one year at the House of Corrections for starting a fire in a dumpster and for resisting arrest, to be served concurrently. He was also handed out a three- to six-year sentence in New Hampshire state prison for stealing several items from Cumberland Farms in Claremont, suspended for five years upon good behavior.
If imposed, the prison term will be served consecutive to his first prison sentence.
Meyette’s criminal record in the region stretches back to 2009, when he was convicted of shoplifting charges in Claremont Circuit Court and Lebanon Circuit Court. He was convicted of theft by unauthorized taking in Lebanon Circuit Court in 2015. He was also convicted of receiving stolen property in Sullivan Superior Court on Feb. 5, 2016.
On Oct. 20, 2017, the Claremont Police Department and state fire marshal opened an investigation into a dumpster fire that broke out a convenience store. According to court documents, surveillance footage showed that Meyette and a juvenile were seen standing in front of the dumpster for several seconds before a fire broke out.
“The defendant informed law enforcement that he threw the matches into the dumpster, and subsequently shoved the ‘cardboard’ around to get the fire to go,” fire investigation documents said. “The defendant stated ‘he had been coming down off his use of bath salts and made a bad choice.’”
On Nov. 25, Claremont police responded to Cumberland Farms on Pleasant Street for a reported theft. While the cashier was bagging a man’s items, he requested that she step away from the register to prepare food for him, after which he took the bagged items and left without paying. Surveillance footage identified the man as Meyette.
On Jan. 11, Charlestown Police responded to a report of a theft at Emma’s Market and Deli in Charlestown. Store employees told police that a man – later identified as Meyette — walked out of the store with more than $100 worth of groceries. After Meyette left the store, he entered a white pick-up truck which police had been pursuing for a hit-and-run accident earlier in the day.
When police attempted to pull over the truck, operator Cassandra Grenier initially failed to stop. After she pulled into a driveway, Meyette jumped out of the passenger side of the truck and began fleeing on foot, disobeying police orders to stop. He was ultimately taken into custody after a foot pursuit.
“The facts underlying the defendant’s conduct … shows the defendant’s criminal conduct exposes him to numerous felony and misdemeanor level offenses,” sentencing documents said.
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