Woman Arrested Again in Stolen Van Case

Exeter police arrested a local woman for the second time in connection with her alleged role in a stolen work van found in town in March.

Police said Helen "Nellie" Hager, 35, was charged May 2 with a felony count of tampering with witnesses and a misdemeanor count of non-statutory contempt of court.

Police said the new charges stem from Hager violating bail conditions from her arrest in March, when she was charged with three felony counts of receiving stolen property related to a MacKenzie Heating and Cooling work van that police recovered in Exeter.

Per bail conditions, she was not supposed to have contact with her alleged co-conspirator, Vinicius Silva.

Police accuse Hager made attempts to influence Silva in the court proceedings and "described her ploy to stay out of jail."

Police released these excerpts from Exeter detectives investigating the case:

• Hager: "Just stick with our story. All we have to do is convince them that someone else drove, thats what happened. We were hitch hiking."

• Hager: "I'm gonna play other games to stay out of jail, like detox is my game. That’s the way I'm playing it. Once I get entrenched in detox they can't force me out of detox. I'll go to my court dates cause it will look good…and thats gonna be the key to me staying out of jail. Like I'm gonna stay in programs the next 5 years."