By Ryan O'Connor
Staff Writer

After two months of investigation, an arrest has been made in the March 8 robbery of Grappone Hyundai in Bow, and police say they’re close to solving an Epsom burglary.

William T. Bisson, of Manchester, was arrested April 25 after Bow police, in connection with the Epsom, Manchester and state police, executed warrants for two Manchester locations.

“It’s always good to make burglary arrests because it’s a big concern to the community,” said Bow Detective David Girard. “It’s definitely nice to make an arrest after you put months and months of work into something.”

After surveillance caught a dark-colored Ford Windstar leaving the auto dealership at the time of the burglary, Girard said his department followed up on a lead from a similar robbery in Epsom, which involved the same vehicle.

The investigation intensified when some of the stolen tools and diagnostic equipment, valued at $20,000, began to show up in the Salem area.

“Some of the diagnostic equipment is very industry- specific. It’s not something you would find in a typical mom-and-pop shop,” said Girard. “It started turning up in the Salem area and, through witnesses and some undercover work, we were able to trace this equipment back to William Bisson in Manchester.”

After recovering more than $15,000 in stolen property prior to the warrants being issued, Girard said police found other evidence directly linking Bisson to the burglary, including a 1995 dark blue Ford Windstar and a state inspection computer stand that had been taken from Epsom.

Because much of the equipment was found in Salem, state police became involved and assisted Bow police with jurisdictional issues.

Included in the warrants was a sample of Bisson’s DNA, which, Girard said, the department hopes to link to broken glass from the Grappone robbery where one of the suspects was cut. In addition, broken glass was found in the confiscated van.

According to Sgt. Mark Fowke, Manchester police also obtained a warrant in connection with robberies at a residence and store in the Queen City.

Bisson is currently charged by state police with two felony counts of receiving stolen property. Manchester police have charged him with one count of burglary, one count of possession of property without a serial number and two counts of receiving stolen property.

Girard said more charges may be forthcoming from both Bow and Epsom.

The Epsom burglary took place at Gelinas Garage on Feb. 18, and although he could not put a monetary figure on the property stolen, Epsom Police Chief Wayne Preve said it was significant and obviously the work of more than one individual.

“They cleaned out the garage pretty good,” he said. “One guy couldn’t do this by himself unless he had a forklift, so we are still investigating and hoping to make more arrests.

Preve said the arrest and ongoing investigation was the product of strong teamwork between different jurisdictions.

“Between us, the state police, Bow police and working with Manchester, we were able to put this all together and retrieve some of the stolen tools during the course of the investigation, he said. “It’s nice to put a case together and make an arrest.”

Bisson has already been arraigned in Manchester and is scheduled to appear on June 9 at the Derry District Court.