ORANGE — At approximately 2:22 a.m. on Thursday, March 20, 2025, Orange Police Officer Andrew Starbard responded to a reported shoplifting incident at Honey Farms, located at 167 Daniel Shays Highway.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Starbard and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Prior to my arrival, the overnight clerk, [name redacted], advised dispatch that the suspect had just left in a vehicle and she provided a description,” Officer Starbard said. Later adding, “A BOLO [Be On The Lookout] was given to surrounding police departments and the Athol Police Department quickly found the vehicle in question and conducted a motor vehicle stop.”
The suspect was identified as Meaghan Bearse, who was the passenger in the vehicle in the motor vehicle stop.
According to police, Meaghan L. Bearse, 38, is a resident of Swanzey Factory Road in Swanzey, New Hampshire.
“The clerk advised she observed Bearse via live surveillance feed,” Officer Starbard said. “She saw Bearse put a yogurt parfait and honey bun in her purse and concealed the items. Bearse did not attempt to pay for the items.” Police estimated the combined value of the yogurt parfait and honey bun at $7.28.
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Officer Starbard stated that the driver of the involved vehicle corroborated the description of goods stolen by Bearse, as he was under the impression that she had paid for the items.
“When I contacted Bearse, she was actively eating the yogurt parfait,” Officer Starbard said. “I searched Bearse’s purse after her arrest and found approximately thirty 25 mg tablets of hydroxyzine inside a prescription bottle that did not belong to her.”
Bearse was arrested and charged with:
- Shoplifting by Asportation
- Possess Class E Drug
“Bail Commissioner David Weiss was contacted and set bail at $500,” Officer Starbard said. “Bearse could not make bail and was transported to the Franklin County House of Corrections.”
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from March, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.
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