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Young refugee from warn torn Sierra Leone sentenced for threatening police
LACONIA — The local man who was found guilty of two counts of threatening to assault a city police officer and members of his family was sentenced yesterday in Belknap County Superior Court to serve 1 1/2 to 3 years in the New Hampshire State Prison, with a second sentence of 1 1/2 to 3 years suspended on the condition of good behavior.
Abdul Kamara, 21, who last known address was 4 Hill St., was one of two men involved in an altercation with police the resulted in one police officer getting a broken nose. Stephen Johnstone, 21, is charged with the assault on the officer and has yet to stand trial.
In his sentencing memorandum, attorney Charles Temple of the UNH School of Law Criminal Practice Clinic asked for two consecutive sentences of 12 months each — one suspended — in the Belknap County House of Corrections.
In his argument he said Kamara was born in in 1989 in Sierra Leone, a country in the throes of a civil war that, according to the BBC, was marked by atrocities include rebels whose trademark was to hack off the hands and feet of their victims.
When he was two, Kamara was separated from his parents and lived for the next eight years in a refugee camp where Temple said he was the target of sexual abuse. He was also a witness to the sexual abuse of his younger sister.
Sierra Leone is on the West Coast of Africa and is rich in minerals including so-called "blood diamonds." Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor was convicted in The Hague in 2012 for aiding and abetting war crimes during the Sierra Leone civil war.
"The first 10 years of Abdul's life where characterized by extreme poverty, hunger, abuse, and terror," wrote Temple. "He lived in a hell where there was a lack of food, no running water limited sanitation and extreme violence."
Temple said Kamara was 10, he and his two sisters came to Laconia through a sponsorship of the First Baptist Church. He said a local family took Kamara and his two sisters into their home and he thrived, excelling in school and various sports.
When Kamara's older sister moved the family to Virginia, Kamara, according to Temple, was devastated because he was in middle school and the move took him from his life in Laconia. Temple said Kamara was forced to start all over again and fell in with the wrong group of students in Virginia that ultimately led to convictions in 2007 for larceny and assault.
He was released from jail after serving four months but was detained by U.S. Immigration until 2009 in San Antonio, Texas. AFter his release he went to Virginia, transferred his probation to New Hampshire, and returned to Laconia where he graduated from Laconia High School in 2009.
Temple proposed sentences in the Belknap County House of Corrections because he said the purpose of incarceration was rehabilitation and during the 147 days Kamara has spent in the Belknap County Jail awaiting sentencing, he has had "ample opportunity to reflect on his criminal behavior following the car stop in September of 2012 that led to his arrest and conviction.
"He is ashamed, remorseful, and embarrassed by this inexcusable conduct," wrote Temple on behalf of Kamara.
In handing down Kamara's sentence, Judge James O'Neill III ruled that Kamara was eligible to apply for a sentence rehearing at a future date.
Abdul Kamara, 21, who last known address was 4 Hill St., was one of two men involved in an altercation with police the resulted in one police officer getting a broken nose. Stephen Johnstone, 21, is charged with the assault on the officer and has yet to stand trial.
In his sentencing memorandum, attorney Charles Temple of the UNH School of Law Criminal Practice Clinic asked for two consecutive sentences of 12 months each — one suspended — in the Belknap County House of Corrections.
In his argument he said Kamara was born in in 1989 in Sierra Leone, a country in the throes of a civil war that, according to the BBC, was marked by atrocities include rebels whose trademark was to hack off the hands and feet of their victims.
When he was two, Kamara was separated from his parents and lived for the next eight years in a refugee camp where Temple said he was the target of sexual abuse. He was also a witness to the sexual abuse of his younger sister.
Sierra Leone is on the West Coast of Africa and is rich in minerals including so-called "blood diamonds." Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor was convicted in The Hague in 2012 for aiding and abetting war crimes during the Sierra Leone civil war.
"The first 10 years of Abdul's life where characterized by extreme poverty, hunger, abuse, and terror," wrote Temple. "He lived in a hell where there was a lack of food, no running water limited sanitation and extreme violence."
Temple said Kamara was 10, he and his two sisters came to Laconia through a sponsorship of the First Baptist Church. He said a local family took Kamara and his two sisters into their home and he thrived, excelling in school and various sports.
When Kamara's older sister moved the family to Virginia, Kamara, according to Temple, was devastated because he was in middle school and the move took him from his life in Laconia. Temple said Kamara was forced to start all over again and fell in with the wrong group of students in Virginia that ultimately led to convictions in 2007 for larceny and assault.
He was released from jail after serving four months but was detained by U.S. Immigration until 2009 in San Antonio, Texas. AFter his release he went to Virginia, transferred his probation to New Hampshire, and returned to Laconia where he graduated from Laconia High School in 2009.
Temple proposed sentences in the Belknap County House of Corrections because he said the purpose of incarceration was rehabilitation and during the 147 days Kamara has spent in the Belknap County Jail awaiting sentencing, he has had "ample opportunity to reflect on his criminal behavior following the car stop in September of 2012 that led to his arrest and conviction.
"He is ashamed, remorseful, and embarrassed by this inexcusable conduct," wrote Temple on behalf of Kamara.
In handing down Kamara's sentence, Judge James O'Neill III ruled that Kamara was eligible to apply for a sentence rehearing at a future date.
Last Updated on Thursday, 23 May 2013 02:46
Hits: 35
Laconia welcomes 5 new firefighters, 4 initially paid for by federal grant
LACONIA — Fire Chief Ken Erickson yesterday announced that five firefighters have joined the department, four of them as the result of the decision of the City Council to accept a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency worth $642,000, which will pay their wages and benefits for two years.
The four firefighters include two veterans of the Henniker Fire Department, Gregory Aucoin and Brennan Lorden, both of Henniker. Aucoin, a graduate of Bob Jones University, is a level 2 firefighter and EMT-paramedic, who has served in Henniker for eight years. Lorden volunteered for the Salisbury Fire Department and interned with the Concord Fire Department before joining the Henniker department as a level 2 firefighter and EMT-intermediate.
Ray Bushey III of Raymond, also a level 2 firefighter and EMT-intermediate, earned his associates degree in fire science at Lakes Region Community College and served as a student firefighter with the Alton Fire Department.
The fourth firefighter, Nathan Mills, comes from Connecticut where he works with Bridgeport Emergency Medical Services as an EMT-paramedic. He has a bachelor's degree in fire science from the University of New Haven, graduated from the Connecticut Fire Academy Recruit School and served in the East Hartford Fire Department.
Trevor Greene of Sandwich, the fifth new member to join the department this month, will replace Bruce Barrett, who has retired as the "Most Senior Firefighter." Like Aucoin and Lorden, Greene also served with the Henniker Fire Department. A graduate in fire science from New England College, he is a level 2 firefighter and EMT-advanced.
Erickson the addition of the four firefighters marks the first increase in overall staffing since 2006 and brings the daily complement to nine officers and firefighters on duty 24 hours a day.
The four firefighters include two veterans of the Henniker Fire Department, Gregory Aucoin and Brennan Lorden, both of Henniker. Aucoin, a graduate of Bob Jones University, is a level 2 firefighter and EMT-paramedic, who has served in Henniker for eight years. Lorden volunteered for the Salisbury Fire Department and interned with the Concord Fire Department before joining the Henniker department as a level 2 firefighter and EMT-intermediate.
Ray Bushey III of Raymond, also a level 2 firefighter and EMT-intermediate, earned his associates degree in fire science at Lakes Region Community College and served as a student firefighter with the Alton Fire Department.
The fourth firefighter, Nathan Mills, comes from Connecticut where he works with Bridgeport Emergency Medical Services as an EMT-paramedic. He has a bachelor's degree in fire science from the University of New Haven, graduated from the Connecticut Fire Academy Recruit School and served in the East Hartford Fire Department.
Trevor Greene of Sandwich, the fifth new member to join the department this month, will replace Bruce Barrett, who has retired as the "Most Senior Firefighter." Like Aucoin and Lorden, Greene also served with the Henniker Fire Department. A graduate in fire science from New England College, he is a level 2 firefighter and EMT-advanced.
Erickson the addition of the four firefighters marks the first increase in overall staffing since 2006 and brings the daily complement to nine officers and firefighters on duty 24 hours a day.
Last Updated on Thursday, 23 May 2013 02:41
Hits: 287
Meth related arrests made across from courthouse
LACONIA — A woman and two men, all charged with possessing and conspiring to manufacture illicit drugs, were arrested yesterday following a search of a unit at 21 Academy Street, directly across the street from the county courthouse.
Donald G. Doucet, 40, Joel Paquette, 42 and Christy Lynn Jarrell, 29, all of 21 Academy Street, Unit 6, were held in Belknap County Jail in lieu of cash bail pending their arraignment in 4th Circuit Court, Laconia Division this morning.
According to a statement from the Sheriff's Department, at around 11:30 a.m. Deputy Justin Blanchette observed one of the two men, who he did not identify, engaged in suspicious activity outside the apartment building. He was subsequently found in possession of methamphetamine and arrested.
Later, apparently suspecting a methamphetamine laboratory might be operating in the building, officers from the Sheriff's Department, with assistance from the Laconia Police and Fire Departments, executed a search warrant at the man's apartment, where they found other controlled and narcotic drugs together with materials commonly used to produce methamphetamine. There were no allegations that there was an active drug-making operation discovered at the time of the search.
On Saturday, shortly before 1 p.m., Jarrell was arrested after being found in the parking lot of the nearby Walgreen's drugstore in illegal possession of a hypodermic needle.
Donald G. Doucet, 40, Joel Paquette, 42 and Christy Lynn Jarrell, 29, all of 21 Academy Street, Unit 6, were held in Belknap County Jail in lieu of cash bail pending their arraignment in 4th Circuit Court, Laconia Division this morning.
According to a statement from the Sheriff's Department, at around 11:30 a.m. Deputy Justin Blanchette observed one of the two men, who he did not identify, engaged in suspicious activity outside the apartment building. He was subsequently found in possession of methamphetamine and arrested.
Later, apparently suspecting a methamphetamine laboratory might be operating in the building, officers from the Sheriff's Department, with assistance from the Laconia Police and Fire Departments, executed a search warrant at the man's apartment, where they found other controlled and narcotic drugs together with materials commonly used to produce methamphetamine. There were no allegations that there was an active drug-making operation discovered at the time of the search.
On Saturday, shortly before 1 p.m., Jarrell was arrested after being found in the parking lot of the nearby Walgreen's drugstore in illegal possession of a hypodermic needle.
Last Updated on Thursday, 23 May 2013 02:29
Hits: 374
Worsman calls out Shackett over closed door remark
LACONIA — The strife that has bedeviled relations between the Belknap County Convention and Belknap County Commission was missing when the convention met this week to weigh the commission's request for a supplemental appropriation to fund rehabilitative services at the county nursing home.
However, before turning to the business at hand Rep. Colette Worsman (R-Meredith), who chairs the convention, read a formal statement denying charges that the leadership of the convention was reaching decisions behind closed doors made by County Administrator Debra Shackett when the commission met on May 15.
As reported in The Daily Sun, Shackett said that "the intent of the leadership is not to deliberate issues in public. They're going to come in with a motion already prepared."
Her remarks followed Worsman's decision to abruptly cancel a public hearing on the request for a supplemental appropriation scheduled earlier, claiming that the administration failed to provide the convention with sufficient information about the issue.
Shackett was echoed by John Thomas (R-Belmont) the chairman of the commission, who was reported to suggest the convention may be in violation of the Right-to-Know Law. Likewise, Commissioner Ed Philpot (D-Laconia) was quoted to have said that the convention has followed "a process which is patently incompatible with open government."
Calling the charges "entirely false," Worsman insisted that that there have been no private meetings and no decisions have been reached beyond the public eye. She stressed that it was appropriate to request information for members of the convention prior to the public hearing, which they required to make an informed and responsible decision.
"The convention has been entirely open," Worsman declared.
Shackett, who was attending to a family member with a serious medical condition, was not at the meeting and Thomas told Worsman that he would not presume to speak on her behalf.
Meanwhile, in anticipation of pursuing its dispute between with the commission over their respective authority over the budget, the convention voted to designate Worsman the liaison with Attorney David Horan, who it earlier retrained as legal counsel. When Rep. Ian Raymond (D-Sanbornton) reminded Worsman that the commission, which is authorized to retain and pay legal counsel to represent the county, has already refused to pay two legal bills and asked how Horan would be paid, she simply replied that the commission is obliged to pay legal costs incurred by the county.
However, before turning to the business at hand Rep. Colette Worsman (R-Meredith), who chairs the convention, read a formal statement denying charges that the leadership of the convention was reaching decisions behind closed doors made by County Administrator Debra Shackett when the commission met on May 15.
As reported in The Daily Sun, Shackett said that "the intent of the leadership is not to deliberate issues in public. They're going to come in with a motion already prepared."
Her remarks followed Worsman's decision to abruptly cancel a public hearing on the request for a supplemental appropriation scheduled earlier, claiming that the administration failed to provide the convention with sufficient information about the issue.
Shackett was echoed by John Thomas (R-Belmont) the chairman of the commission, who was reported to suggest the convention may be in violation of the Right-to-Know Law. Likewise, Commissioner Ed Philpot (D-Laconia) was quoted to have said that the convention has followed "a process which is patently incompatible with open government."
Calling the charges "entirely false," Worsman insisted that that there have been no private meetings and no decisions have been reached beyond the public eye. She stressed that it was appropriate to request information for members of the convention prior to the public hearing, which they required to make an informed and responsible decision.
"The convention has been entirely open," Worsman declared.
Shackett, who was attending to a family member with a serious medical condition, was not at the meeting and Thomas told Worsman that he would not presume to speak on her behalf.
Meanwhile, in anticipation of pursuing its dispute between with the commission over their respective authority over the budget, the convention voted to designate Worsman the liaison with Attorney David Horan, who it earlier retrained as legal counsel. When Rep. Ian Raymond (D-Sanbornton) reminded Worsman that the commission, which is authorized to retain and pay legal counsel to represent the county, has already refused to pay two legal bills and asked how Horan would be paid, she simply replied that the commission is obliged to pay legal costs incurred by the county.
Last Updated on Thursday, 23 May 2013 02:26
Hits: 163
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