Pittsfield Man Arrested on Felony Attempted Burglary Charges

A local man is facing felony charges after allegedly attempting to burglarize two homes on Auburn Street.

Alexander Papastefanou, 29, Pittsfield, was arrested at 12:31 p.m. on April 7, on two felony attempt to commit burglary charges.

According to a Concord Police arrest report, officers were sent to a home on Auburn Street near Columbus Avenue for a report of a male intruder. While en route, the officers were told that the caller was alone, upstairs, and holding a knife, for protection.

When the officers arrived, the front door was wide open. The officers entered the home, searched both stories and the basement, but did not find an intruder, only the caller.

The man stated that he was home alone, heard a noise, and his dogs barking, and assumed it was his parents coming home. He said “Hello,” a few times, but received no answer. He said he began to get nervous so he grabbed a knife and called 911.

The man then reported seeing a shadow and heard a man’s voice say, “It’s OK.” The man believed that the intruder was talking to the two dogs.

The officers exited the home and then were advised that an elderly neighbor next door found a man standing inside of her home.

The officers went to the second home and spoke to witnesses. One said when she opened the door to the home, she saw a man not known to her standing inside. She alleged that the man stated he was looking for his dog and requested to use the bathroom. The elderly woman said it was OK for him to use the bathroom. And the man later exited the bathroom and the home.

Another witness told the officers that she reportedly saw a man walking in a southerly direction, right past all the police cars parked at the home they were previously at.

Officers took footwear casts from the homes. Clothes were also seized as evidence.

Later, a man matching the description of the alleged intruder, was seen and questioned by other officers. During conversations with the man, who later turned out to be Papastefanou, police alleged that he said he was released from jail back in February and had been staying in Derry but just starting hanging out in Concord during the previous week. He said he was staying with a friend but couldn’t recall the exact address. Papastefanou was arrested and sent to the Merrimack County House of Correction, where he was arraigned remotely on April 8.

According to published reports, Papastefanou was arrested in March 2004, after a police detective was staked out at Fort Eddy Road stores looking for an alleged purse snatcher. While in Shaw’s Supermarket on Fort Eddy Road, the detective followed Papastefanou as he followed an older woman around the store. When the detective tried to speak with him, Papastefanou allegedly threw a bag of marijuana on the store floor and was arrested.

Police later recovered stolen items from purses that had been snatched at area stores and Papastefanou was charged with four counts of theft.