CONCORD, NH — It took a year, but Concord police believe they have the second suspect accused of stealing thousands of dollars in liquor from New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets in 2023.
In June 2023, police were sent to the Merchants Way liquor store in Penacook to investigate thefts around the state involving two women. The thefts amounted to more than $6,000 in booze stolen from the stores.
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A district store manager reported four incidents in Concord — two on June 4, 2023, and two more on June 7, 2023. The June 4, 2023, thefts were from Merchants Way and Storrs Street and amounted to about $1,300 in liquor stolen. Three days later, one of the suspects returned to both stores and was accused of stealing about $300 in scotch and cognac. The officer noted the timestamps on security footage from both stores were about 5 minutes more than the distances it would take to drive between both stores, an affidavit stated.
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After eyeing the surveillance footage from both day’s thefts, the officer accused one woman, who was wearing a wig during the thefts, of being the perpetrator of the thefts, the report said. That woman, Chelsie Golan of Ruby Circle in Haverhill, MA, was arrested in August 2023, after a Concord Regional Crimeline alert was posted leading to “a plethora of tips.” During the course of the investigation, the second suspect was identified as Rebecca Lynn Motta, 35, of Willis Street in New Bedford, MA.
Golan was accused of stealing the liquor so it could be sold at a store in Lawrence, MA. She was accused of confessing to police and fingering Motta, one of her drug buddies, as the second suspect, an affidavit stated. The report said the pair were accused of being involved in thefts around the state, including Bedford, Hampton, Hooksett, Nashua, Pembroke, Portsmouth, and Seabrook.
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Bedford police assisted the Concord investigator by providing information about Motta and Golan from the Massachusetts Board of Probation. Motta’s booking photo “looks remarkably similar to the brunette suspect in the still-shots from my cases,” the report stated.
The officer requested a search warrant of a 508 number believed to be Motta’s based out of Fall River, MA, not far from where she lived, and found more than 30 calls between Motta and Golan, the officer wrote.
The officer also spoke to the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission about the store in Lawrence, MA. The officer also interviewed the store owner, who stated they did not know Golan but did know Motta. They denied buying any liquor from them.
After attempting to reach Motta several times and receiving no response, a warrant was issued for her arrest in July 2023. Motta was arrested at 7 p.m. on June 21 on a felony organized retail crime enterprise charge and arraigned in Concord District Court.
According to superior court records, Golan has a pending felony organized retail crime enterprise charge out of Concord slated to be put before a jury in October; pending felony organized retail crime enterprise, felony willful concealment, and misdemeanor willful concealment counts out of Bedford and Manchester from May 2023 with an updated status conference booked for August; and pending felony organized retail crime enterprise and misdemeanor theft charges out of New Hampton from June 2023 with a dispositional conference booked for September. She has been indicted in all four cases.
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