Rochester woman gets 3-6 years in downtown Dover crime spree

Vanessa Bentley (Dover Police photo)

DOVER - The Rochester resident who went on a one-woman crime spree in downtown Dover last January is headed for jail for at least 13 months after she pleaded guilty to drug possession and burglary charges on Thursday.

Vanessa Bentley, 37, of 10 Ella Court A, tried unsuccessfully to break into Downtown Discount Beverages on Central Avenue around 5 a.m. the morning of Jan. 6, smashing a front window but failing to gain entry.

Soon after she headed up to Janetos Superette on Main Street, smashed another window there and gained entrance to the neighborhood grocery.

An employee of the market found Bentley inside the store at 6:15 a.m. and tried to detain her, but court records state she struck him in the back of the neck with a hammer in an attempt to flee.

Bentley was indicted in March on two counts of burglary and second-degree assault.

Judge Mark E. Howard sentenced Bentley to three to six years in state prison on two drug possession counts, but allowed 18 months of that to be suspended if Bentley is accepted into the Strafford County Drug Court. With 129 days of pretrial confinement credit, that means she could be out in as little as about 13 months.

Meanwhile, both burglary counts resulted in a single three and half to seven year prison sentence, all suspended for five years upon her release from the drug charge, while the second-degree assault charge was dropped.

Bentley will also be on supervised probation for three years after her release and must comply with all drug treatment and other program prescribed by the Dept. of Corrections and the Strafford County Drug Court. She is also forbidden from having any contact with Janetos.