WINSTED — A suspect in a string of burglaries that occurred in April was arrested, escaped and was taken back into custody by the Winchester Police Department this past weekend, and is now being held on $180,000 in bonds.According to police, Gregory Moulthrop, 33, of 233 Holabird Ave., was taken into custody on Friday, May 4, for violation of probation as part of an investigation into the recent string of burglaries in town that earned the perpetrator the nickname “the ghost burglar.”More than a dozen residential burglaries have been attributed to the ghost burglar and have put the entire town on edge in recent weeks. Clusters of homes have been hit at night — with some people at home sleeping when the crimes occurred. While in custody May 4, Moulthrop claimed he was ill and was taken to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington for medical treatment. After being released from the hospital, Moulthrop reportedly escaped from a transporting police officer who was attempting to handcuff him.Moulthrop reportedly ran across the hospital parking lot, across New Litchfield Street and into a wooded area as he was being chased by Sgt. Kevin Kinahan.Acting on a tip, on Sunday, May 5, the police department arrested Moulthrop again at 11 Marion St. in Torrington.A charge of escape from custody has been added to Moultrop’s original charge of violation of probation. According to Police Chief Robert Scannell, the department expects to file additional charges against Moulthrop in the near future.“He has not been charged in relation to the burglaries, but I do anticipate he will be,” Scannell said. “I cannot say what the exact charges will be because the investigation is still continuing.”Police have also said the ghost burglar may not have been acting alone.On Monday, May 7, Moulthrop was arraigned on his current charges in Bantam Superior Court and his initial bonds of $100,000 were increased to $180,000.Moulthrop has had multiple run-ins with the law dating back to 2001 when he was arrested by the Torrington Police Department for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. In January 2003, Moulthrop was given an unconditional discharge in the case.In April 2007, he was arrested by the Torrington Police Department and subsequently sentenced to 18 months probation for multiple charges including two charges of larceny in the fifth degree, making a false statement in the second degree and two charges of violation of probation.In January 2011, Winchester Police arrested Moulthrop for charges of larceny in the sixth degree, violation of probation and failure to appear in the second degree.Moulthrop served 45 days in jail for his probation violation, while he received one year probation for the larceny charge and 18 months probation for the failure to appear charge.In November 2011, Winchester Police arrested Moulthrop for charges of failure to appear in the second degree and giving a false statement in the second degree. He was sentenced to 18 months probation for both charges.Moulthrop is also listed in a child support court case that dates back from 2004 and continued until April 2 of this year.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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