Portsmouth police arrest 'thrill-seeking' car thief spanning multiple towns

PORTSMOUTH — Police have arrested a man accused of stealing numerous cars across southern Maine and the New Hampshire Seacoast.

Authorities had been searching for 44-year-old Anthony Bizzocchi of Eliot, Maine, since earlier this month after cars were turning up stolen in towns like York, Maine and North Hampton, New Hampshire.

Portsmouth police arrested Bizzocchi on April 12, three days after the York Police Department identified him as a suspect in their case.

Bizzocchi was arraigned on April 15 and is being held in preventive custody at the Rockingham County jail in Brentwood.

Bizzocchi is currently charged with felony theft by unauthorized taking and receiving stolen property for stealing two vehicles in Stratham. Each charge carries a sentence of 7½ to 15 years in prison.

According to the criminal complaints, Bizzocchi allegedly stole two vehicles April 3 on Chestnut Street. One was a white 2014 Audi A4, and the other was a 2013 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van valued at $24,919.

Cars were also stolen and later found in many other communities over the last few weeks. Those include North Hampton, Portsmouth, Greenland, and Maine communities of York, Kittery and Wells.

York Police Detective Thomas Cryan said Bizzocchi has been allegedly driving from one location to the next and stealing cars as he goes. North Hampton Police Chief Robert LaBarge described the behavior as “thrill-seeking."

Detective Ryan Sanford of Kittery police identified Bizzocchi as the suspect in the multi-agency investigation.

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Police follow trail of stolen cars to Bizzocchi

York police say they responded April 9 to 1400 US Route 1 for a report of a stolen silver 2020 Honda HR-V. Shortly after responding to that call, they located another vehicle parked in the same area reported stolen by the Wells Police Department.

York police were later notified that a 2002 Toyota Rav4 reported stolen from a York auto shop was found in North Hampton.

Stratham Police Detective Sgt. Steven Janvrin said Bizzocchi was arrested in Portsmouth but was unable to confirm details of how the arrest occurred. A call to Portsmouth police, regarding the arrest, was not immediately returned.

York and North Hampton police said they expect to file charges from their own cases.

Cryan said the thefts in York did not require hotwiring. The cars stolen, he said, were unlocked with keys inside.

He said York police plan to seek indictments with a grand jury.

LaBarge said his department expects to charge Bizzocchi with unauthorized use of a propelled vehicle or animal, which is a misdemeanor. LaBarge said the fact that Bizzocchi abandoned the vehicles indicates he did not intend to steal them.

"I don't see how you can prove that he was intending to permanently deprive (the owners)," LaBarge said. "He uses it for an hour."

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This was not Bizzocchi’s first time stealing cars in the Seacoast

Bizzocchi was arrested in June 2022 for stealing a car in Hampton Falls, according to New Hampshire State Police. They stated in a press release, at the time, that Bizzocchi abandoned the vehicle on Interstate 95 Northbound. He was apprehended hiding in the woods with the assistance of a K9.

Bizzocchi pleaded guilty in that case and received a suspended one to three years jail term, dependent on good behavior.

Bizzocchi is currently being held in preventive detention on the charges out of Stratham after Judge Polly Hall found evidence that his release would endanger the safety of himself or the public. The judge also ordered that Bizzocchi be screened for “SUD,” which commonly refers to substance use disorder. If accepted into a residential treatment program, Bizzocchi's preventative detention may be lifted, the order reads.

Rockingham County Attorney Pat Conway did not immediately respond to a request for details on how Bizzocchi’s charges from various towns will be prosecuted, whether together or separately.

Bizzocchi is represented by public defender Howard Clayman, who did not return a call seeking comment.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Police arrest 'thrill-seeking' car thief: Faces charges in Maine, NH