Men break into home to quench thirst

OXFORD COUNTY — Should anyone need another reason not to drive drunk, two gentlemen from the Granite State have supplied one.

Oxford County Sheriff's Corporal Brian Landis was still chuckling the day after he met Andrew Walter Dellinger, 22, of Haverhill, NH, and his pal, Corey White, 23, of Chester, NH, on Swan Road, in Bethel.

First, the experienced officer came upon the men's pickup truck, and marvelled at the way it was wrapped around a utility pole. Landis observed that the power lines were down and remained so for several hours, until a Central Maine Power crew arrived to restore them.

Dellinger and Corey, to whom the corporal was introduced, had not sustained injuries in their utility pole mishap, but Landis and Deputy Matt Noyes noticed that both appeared to have been drinking. In particular, it struck them, as it later seemed to corrections officers at the Oxford County Jail, that of the two men, Dellinger was the most "under the weather," by far. It was Dellinger who had been driving and the totaled pickup truck was his.

The two Granite Staters told the officers that they were employed at Sunday River Ski Resort in nearby Newry and they had worked up a powerful thirst on the night shift. At 3 a.m., however, there was no place open that would fill their desire, so they "opened" one.

That is, they broke into a residence on Swan Road and served themselves whiskey, beer and other items they found there.

Landis said tire and foot tracks in the snow, as well as discarded beer cans and other tell-tale items were scattered, fairy-tale fashion, between the pickup truck and the burglarized house. He added that the two readily confessed to having committed the break-in and theft.

Dellinger and White posted $500 cash bail and were released Tuesday, from the Oxford County Jail. They are scheduled for hearings in Oxford County Superior Court in February. By breaking into a residence, they elevated the crime of Burglary to  a felony. In Dellinger's case, Operating Under the Influence, a misdemeanor, was added.

To the two veteran policemen however, one mystery remained.

As Landis put it, "Why in the world did they decide that the drunkest guy would be the designated driver of the get-away car?"

Photo: Oxford County Jail

Deputy sheriffs say Andrew Dellinger was under the influence when he smashed a utility pole in Bethel while driving a get-away truck from a burglary scene.

Photo:

Deputy sheriffs say Corey White made a big mistake when he let his friend be the designated driver of their get-away truck.