A Concord woman accused of stealing several thousand dollars from the Citizens Bank downtown this past fall is expected to reach a plea deal with county prosecutors, according to court records.
Sarah Hodge, 57, is facing a felony robbery charge after she demanded $20,000 in a note handed to a bank teller on the morning of Oct. 3. Hodge was not armed, but the teller told police she was terrified Hodge was going to pull out a gun.
During a recent hearing in Merrimack County Superior Court, attorneys told Judge John Kissinger Jr. that plea negotiations are ongoing but that the case will likely be resolved without a trial. The court has since scheduled a plea and sentencing hearing for March 26 in Concord.
Hodge has remained incarcerated at the Merrimack County jail in Boscawen since her arrest in early October. That same week, Kissinger ordered Hodge held without bail pending trial, calling her a danger to public safety.
Investigators said Hodge’s note included words to the effect of “I don’t want to hurt anyone” but her actions told otherwise. Hodge “kept putting her hand toward her pocket” while ordering the teller to “hurry,” according to a sworn police affidavit.
The bank teller told Hodge that she didn’t have $20,000 but would empty her top and bottom drawers and provide the cash inside, the affidavit says.
Following the robbery, police said they reviewed video surveillance footage and received multiple tips from witnesses that led them to Hodge. When police knocked on her apartment door later that afternoon, they observed her wearing the same blue jeans, tan work boots and blue headphones also worn by the robbery suspect, the affidavit says.
Concord police Det. Wade Brown tested at an October bail hearing that Hodge reached out to him and was willing to show police where she buried the money on Concord Hospital’s grounds. He said about $6,900 had been taken from the bank, but only $6,100 had been recovered. Hodge told him some of the money was given to her sister, who also lives in Concord.
Police also found roughly $300 on Hodge at the time of her arrest.
Hodge has three prior convictions for armed robbery in Massachusetts and a lengthy criminal record in New Hampshire that includes convictions for theft, drug possession and burglary.
(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319 or at adandrea@cmonitor.com.)