Fryeburg man found guilty of Settlers' Green burglary

OSSIPEE – A Fryeburg man, on Tuesday, was found guilty of  burglarizing the American Eagle Store in North Conway in 2012. Prosecutors said the burglary was an inside job.

Christopher Dietrich, of Fryeburg, was accused of breaking into the American Eagle store in Settlers' Green in August of 2012. Dietrich and an accomplice, Zach Ryall, who worked at American Eagle at the time, allegedly stole American Eagle's safe and took all the cash inside. Ryall is on the lam and there is a warrant out for him.
According to assistant county attorney Brandon Garod, Dietrich and Ryall threw a rock through the display window of the store, entered through the window, headed straight for the safe, took it and escaped through the same broken window
Garod led his opening statement with a quote about the truth that said only three things won't stay hidden forever and those things are the sun, the moon and the truth.
"The reason that I highlight this quote for you today is because on Aug. 10, of 2012 two men broke into the American Eagle Outlet store in Settlers' Green in North Conway, N.H.," said Garod adding the crime is captured on video. "You will see on this video that the two men took great lengths to conceal their identities on their way into American Eagle. They took great lengths to conceal the truth who they actually were."
Garod explained the suspects had black hooded sweatshirts, black gloves, bandanas on their face and black sweat paints. But during the burglary, the taller suspect's hood fell back and that exposed the top of his head.
The break-in occurred around 3:20 a.m. The safe was later found in a ditch but the cash was not recovered.
"They were in and out of the American Eagle store in just about two minutes with that safe," said Garod.
The video doesn't show who they are, but Garod said the truth led to a trail that reveals the identities of the suspects.
He want on to say that the suspects are Dietrich and Ryall. Garod played the video for the jury.
But public defender Howard Clayman said the prosecution's claims aren't true. Clayman raised the idea that police did not look sufficiently at another American Eagle employee who was also investigated at the time.
"Bottom line is if you have that doubt that Chris Dietrich did it, you have to find him not guilty," said Clayman. "The state will not be able to meet this burden because Chris Dietrich did not commit this crime."
Conway Police Det. Ryan Wallace watched surveillance footage of the burglary and deduced that at least one of the suspects worked at American Eagle since they seemed to know exactly where the safe was located.
"It looked like there was an intimate knowledge of where he was going," said Wallace of the suspect caught on video, adding it looked like the burglars had "a mission and a purpose."
Wallace described the suspects as two fit males with one being significantly taller than the other.
After meeting the American Eagle employees, Wallace noticed that Ryall matched one of the suspects' descriptions.
Further investigation showed that on the night of the burglary, Dietrich picked Ryall up after his shift and they went back to Dietrich's residence in Fryeburg.
Security footage shows that the shorter suspect knelt in front of the safe, the bottom of his shoes were exposed and that revealed a green design at the bottom of the sole. Garod said Dietrich owned a pair of shoes that resembled the ones that the shorter suspect wore.
Police looked for evidence in Fryeburg where Dietrich lives. Dietrich had an apartment on Main Street in Fryeburg near Norway Savings Bank. In fact, the bank's security cameras happen to capture the door to Dietrich's apartment.