Crime & Safety

Duo Arrested in Case of Stolen Work Van

Exeter woman accused of having stolen property at her home.

Exeter police have arrested two people and charged them with three felony counts of receiving property in connection with a work van stolen from Haverhill, Mass.

Police identified the duo as Vinicius “Vinny” Silva, 23, described as a homeless man from Boston, and Helen "Nellie" Hager, 35, of Exeter. Silva was also charged with a misdemeanor count of false report.

Exeter police recovered the stolen vehicle March 26 in a remote parking lot in Exeter. Information or items from the vehicle led investigators to Hager's residence. A search warrant and subsequent search found property from the stolen van, police said.

Silva at first gave police an alias. With help from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, his identity was established and police said he is in the country illegally. He was found to have multiple outstanding warrants out of Boston for theft, assault and drug possession charges.

Hager and Silva are scheduled to be arraigned March 27 at Exeter District Court. U.S. ICE also has a detainer placed on Silva.  

Find out what's happening in Exeterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.