SALEM -- After repeated delays, former Atkinson police sergeant and D.A.R.E. officer Nathan Lyons will face trial this month on driving while intoxicated and other charges related to a crash in Newton in 2017.
Lyons, 37, of Plaistow, will stand trial April 17 on charges of DWI, conduct after an accident, and reckless conduct.
The case was originally set for trial in Salem Circuit Court last June, but it was postponed. It was eventually rescheduled for Jan. 23, but was delayed again after prosecutors informed the court that Emily Deguio, the alleged victim in the case, would be out of state and unavailable to testify.
Lyons, who resigned from the police department in the wake of the charges, has pleaded not guilty.
In addition to his role as a sergeant, Lyons taught the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program to local students.
The case is being prosecuted by the Strafford County Attorney’s office.
The DWI charge alleges that Lyons was driving an Acura TSX on North Main Street in Newton on Nov. 21, 2017, while “under the influence of intoxicating liquor and/or controlled drug, prescription drug, over-the-counter drug, or any other chemical substance, natural or synthetic, or any combination thereof, which impairs a person’s ability to drive.”
Newton police have said Lyons struck Deguio’s car, failed to stop, and continued driving until he hit a utility pole on North Main Street.
Police allege that he also drove his car recklessly on Amesbury Road by pulling in front of Deguio and attempting to have her crash into him by stopping short and not letting her pass by him.
Meanwhile, the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council sent a letter to the court last month requesting a copy of the final outcome of his case.
“Since Nathan J. Lyons is a certified officer with the state of New Hampshire, the matter of his arrest and/or conviction may involve action under state rules,” the letter said.
43 comments:
Should this be an issue, the guys hasn't worked at the PD since 2017? Give him a break , he made a mistake and is paying for it.
Other posts on this site claim Lyons broke up a marriage, had two other duis and hit on a dv victim. What is his truth?
ATKINSON — Joyce LaFrance, a former Atkinson town official, continues to fight a conviction of making false reports to police — accusing her neighbor, her attorney, police and a Superior Court judge of wrong-doing along the way.
In a late December ruling, the New Hampshire Supreme Court decided against considering her appeal. But LaFrance told The Eagle-Tribune via email last week that "the case is not over."
She did not elaborate, only mentioning she would file "again in court shortly."
"My lawyer is at fault for this loss and the previous losses," LaFrance wrote to the newspaper.
In 2014, Atkinson Police Chief Al Brackett told The Eagle-Tribune that he remembered LaFrance calling the station constantly for most of that year leading up to her arrest. Her complaints were about a neighbor, a man she had a restraining order against.
Most of the calls and emails from LaFrance were unfounded, Brackett said. They would come early in the morning, mostly between 4 and 7 a.m., he said.
LaFrance has continually accused her neighbor, Jordan Shallow, now 37, of causing disturbances like shooting fireworks over her yard, playing loud music and "screaming at me, calling me names, vulgar comments," she wrote in a stalking petition filed in court.
Shallow was arrested twice, for disorderly conduct and breach of bail (when LaFrance alleged that he tried to contact her despite the stalking petition).
His criminal record has since been cleared, but the impacts — of being arrested on a Sunday afternoon in front of his family, having to appear multiple times in court and moving homes — have lasted, he said.
Shallow said he was petrified of the no contact order, and spent years living in fear.
Their properties were a mere 250 feet apart. Shallow was forced to live elsewhere, in a rental property he owned in Plaistow. His wife and baby girl stayed living next to LaFrance until Shallow could make arrangements for all of them to move.
The final straw came in November 2014, when LaFrance called police with several complaints about Shallow.
"I wasn't even in town," Shallow said about some of the claims against him. "I was on vacation. That's when police realized she was making all these claims up and arrested her."
Shallow said he showed police his travel itinerary and LaFrance was soon charged with making false reports to police on four occasions.
LaFrance was 60 years old at the time of her conviction. During her testimony, she touted a job that grants her high security clearance.
She was also involved in her community, serving several years on the Atkinson Conflict of Interest Committee before resigning in March 2014, nine months before her arrest.
A hearing in front of Judge Sharon Devries in 10th Circuit Court in Plaistow ended with LaFrance not being allowed contact with her neighbor, Jordan Shallow.
She was fined a total of $8,000, which was suspended for a year on the condition that LaFrance not be charged with any felonies, misdemeanors or major motor vehicle violations, according to court documents.
LaFrance has maintained that she's innocent despite unsuccessfully appealing her conviction in Superior Court and the New Hampshire Supreme Court, the highest in the state.
According to the case file in state Supreme Court, LaFrance wanted her case heard again because the Superior Court was responsible for "certain delays" and not giving her a speedy trial.
wait did the cat lady get arreseted again? 5 days in jail and didn't learn yet??
Lets not forget the "deep state" trying to over throw a sitting president and sway an election. Using no less than the three highest law enforcement agency's in the world. After two years of the most corrupt investigation THEY just might be all going to jail now. A little time and perseverance the truth just might surprise you in this case.
We all know how damn corrupt our states court system is and how that bad behavior over the years allowed local law enforcement an edge in cases when it comes to the "good old boys" syndrome.
Is the former Captain from Plaistow really coming to APD to be a patrolman at 32.74 per hour? HMMMM
If you care about NH, you will spread the word about this.
Your town vote is about to be nullified if SB 306 is not stopped.
http://bedfordresidents.com/bra/2019/05/14/tell-the-senate-remove-sb-306-from-the-budget/
No way to contact the owner of this blog, which is the hardest thing to read on the internet... please update it!
Word on the street is Lyons will be getting off, does that mean he can come back and teach DARE?
Anyone know what happen with this case? When is the Laurie list being released? Inquiring mines want to know.....
It's with the Supreme Court. Apparently, the AG is following it there after he appealed the Court ruling to give the names to the public. Now we know who he really is.
What happened to the dare officer and his local mother booty call? Any trial? Any divorce? Where's the beef?
I thought Chief Brackett retired? http://atkinsonpolice.com/chiefs-message.html. If he retired this new guy isn't too big on keeping up to date.
ATKINSON -- Nearly two years after his arrest, former Atkinson Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) officer Nathan Lyons has been given a six-month suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to charges related to a crash in Newton.
The recent guilty pleas came as part of an agreement reached with prosecutors who feared the case could get dismissed because of repeated trial delays.
Lyons, 38, of Plaistow, pleaded guilty to charges of reckless conduct and conduct after an accident -- both misdemeanors -- and a violation-level negligent driving charge.
The ex-Atkinson police sergeant and D.A.R.E officer was arrested after the crash on Nov. 21, 2017, and was originally charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless operation and conduct after an accident.
The DWI charge had alleged that Lyons was driving an Acura TSX on North Main Street in Newton on that day while “under the influence of intoxicating liquor and/or controlled drug, prescription drug, over-the-counter drug, or any other chemical substance, natural or synthetic, or any combination thereof, which impairs a person’s ability to drive.”
As part of the plea agreement with Strafford County prosecutors, who handled the case for the Rockingham County Attorney’s office, the DWI charge was amended to a reckless conduct charge and the wording was changed to state only that he drove on North Main Street “recklessly, which may have placed another in danger of serious bodily injury.”
The original reckless operation charge was changed to negligent driving. By pleading guilty to that charge, Lyons admitted that he drove recklessly on Amesbury Road by pulling in front of Emily Deguio’s vehicle and attempting to have her crash into him by stopping short and not letting her pass by him.
By pleading guilty to the conduct after an accident charge, Lyons admitted that he failed to immediately stop after Deguio’s car was damaged in the crash on North Main Street.
Salem Circuit Court Judge Robert S. Stephen sentenced Lyons to six months in jail, but it was all suspended for a year on the condition that he stay out of trouble, participate in an evaluation by a licensed drug counselor, and follow all recommendations, including counseling, treatment and educational programs.
Lyons was also given a suspended $620 fine and a 30-day license suspension, which will not go into effect as long as he behaves over the next year.
“I thought that this was a fair resolution to the case based on the facts and circumstances,” defense attorney Donald Blaszka Jr. said.
Lyons resigned from the police department after his arrest and his certification as a police officer is also no longer active.
Assistant Strafford County Attorney Kayla Turner said the decision to amend the DWI charge wasn’t something that the office “really believes in doing at all,” but she said there were “circumstances beyond our control.”
The trial was postponed several times and there were concerns regarding issues with a witness for the prosecution, Turner said.
She said the decision was made to reach a plea agreement “rather than risk having everything being dismissed.”
Turner said that while Lyons did not plead guilty to any charges alleging he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time, his sentence requires that he be evaluated by a licensed drug counselor.
“If he does have an issue, there will have to be follow-up,” Turner said.
SALEM, N.H. — The name of a Salem police officer has been added to the Laurie List, a statewide compilation of current or former members of law enforcement who’ve faced disciplinary issues, according to a copy provided by the state attorney general’s office.
Any idea who this is?
BRENTWOOD — The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners is asking the Attorney General’s office to investigate allegations that Sheriff Charles Massahos “fixed” a speeding ticket issued to a county employee.
BRENTWOOD, N.H. — The three Rockingham County commissioners sent a letter to New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald accusing High Sheriff Charles Massahos of Salem of fixing a speeding ticket for a county employee.
Commissioner Kevin Coyle, a longtime New Hampshire district court prosecutor, said the commission contacted the attorney general and the Rockingham County attorney, as they are responsible for the administration of justice.
"I'm not going to tell you the sheriff committed a crime, as that's for others to decide," Coyle said. "But having been in law enforcement for 25 years, this (fixing a ticket) was not supposed to happen."
When contacted by The Eagle-Tribune, Massahos vehemently denied having fixed a speeding ticket for anyone.
"I don't fix tickets, and I don't ask my deputies to fix tickets," he said.
Massahos said that as of Tuesday afternoon, he had not received a copy of the letter from the commissioners' office nor had he been contacted by the attorney general's office.
"I can't comment on something I haven't seen," he said.
In their letter to MacDonald and County Attorney Patricia Conway, the commissioners said it was their understanding that Deputy Sheriff Joseph Costa had issued a speeding ticket to a county employee this past summer. A copy of their letter released to the news media blacked out the name of the employee.
The commissioners said they were only recently informed that Massahos had made a telephone call to the employee the following day to tell the employee he had personally changed the ticket to a warning.
"We are concerned that this behavior on the part of High Sheriff Massahos violates dictates established by the attorney general's office in the mid-1990s regarding 'fixing' tickets," commissioners noted in their letter.
"We are also concerned that by taking care of this ticket, the sheriff may look for some quid pro quo in the future from said employee," the letter states. "The proper administration of justice requires that all individuals involved in the justice system be treated equally and that no preferential treatment should be given to anyone based upon who they are or who they know."
The commissioners asked MacDonald and Conway to fully investigate and determine if any laws or ethical guidelines were broken.
Commissioner Kevin St. James said the sheriff has been playing politics while the commission has been trying to be transparent.
"When he starts going after employees, it's crossing the line," St. James said. "We don't want him holding anything over our employees, and without revealing the identify of the employee, he (Massahos) could potentially do a quid pro quo (a favor in return) with the person's position."
"I'm dead set against that," St. James said. "If you want to play games with me that's fine, but don't play games with our employees."
St. James said that under former High Sheriff Mike Hureau, he received a speeding ticket and nothing inappropriate ensued.
"While the deputy was issuing me a ticket, Hureau stopped and spoke with the deputy then went on his way," St. James said. "That's integrity."
St. James said the employee in question told him in July about having been issued a speeding ticket and that the employee planned to pay it.
"At the time I said it's not my business," said St. James, who added that he later spoke with Coyle, who had talked with the employee in question and learned about the phone call from the sheriff.
Hmm is the sheriff heading back to the gas station?
Does AB know how to pump gas?
Is Chuck Morse related to Harold Morse?
What has happened to my favorite blog?
It's still here, as you are. Patiently waiting for the other shoe to drop.
As the late great David Bowie said:
"Here shall we live in this terrible town
Where the price for our minds
shall squeeze them tight like a fist
And the walls shall have eyes
And the doors shall have ears
But we'll dance in their dark
And they'll play with our lives
Like a Slow Burn
Leading us on and on and on
Like a Slow Burn
Turning us round and round and round Hark who are we
So small in times such as these
Slow Burn
Slow Burn
Oh, these are the days
These are the strangest of all
These are the nights
These are the darkest to fall
But who knows?
Echoes in tenement halls
Who knows?
Though the years spare them all
Like a Slow Burn
Leading us on and on and on
Like a Slow Burn
Twirling us round and round
and upside down
There's fear overhead
There's fear overground
Slow Burn
Slow Burn
Like a Slow Burn
Leading us on and on and on
Like a Slow Burn
Turning us round and round and
'Round And here are we
At the center of it all
Slow Burn
Slow Burn
Slow Burn"
Ah.. election season
Time's Up Atkinson!
How about if all the misogynistic perverts and enablers stay home this year? Pigs and sows need not apply.
14 Coventry Rd: Francis G. Polito to Richard K. and Lauren C. Hornsby, $555,000
Buh bye ��
Yuck. A cranberry sauce and green bean nightmare from the 80s.
Anyone hear about the UNH young lady from ATK that got kicked off campus for life and has 5 restraining orders against her? Beware #herparentsmustbeproud
Sounds like public information. What's her last name?
Did anyone file the public info request yet???
Why are local gyms open WTF ??
Have any APD filed for IOD Mr. I miss my favorite blog?
So what is the deal her? Is this blog pushing up daisy's. Not a new article for over a year. The chief is dead and gone yet still featured on the home page.
If it's dead, say so. If not, about some useful content.
This blog has always been a piss poor imitation of the original. Surely there has to be some dirt on the BOS. Do something or stick a fork in it.
Why is Brackett getting replaced at the sheriff's office?
Dirt?? You want dirt how about the fraud of this new police chief that came to town telling anyone that would listen that between him and Commissioner Ed Davis, they invented community policing. Has anyone seen a cop on regular patrol never mind some Community Policing initiatives. This guy is a fraud!
Does anyone know what it means at APD when they refer to Tuesday as Fat Tuesday?
It means there are 5 FT cops working the day shift, wow that's quite an OT budget.
And I thought the only scam Police department was APD, if you look what's happening at Plaistow PD OMG. Too many steroids Dougie!!!
Hey Kevin, how can you criticize anyone if you can't stand up for the Truth yourself?
Coward.
Your local Atkinson Assistant County Attorney Adria Verrocci is married to the convicted Salem police officer Michael Verrocci. http://www.town-atkinsonnh.com/police.html
Baldwin ARRESTED
https://news.yahoo.com/atkinson-selectman-pennsylvania-police-leader-112300126.html
http://atkinsonreporter2.blogspot.com/2019/04/ex-atkinson-police-sergeant-dare.html?m=1#comment-form
http://atkinsonreporter2.blogspot.com/2014/01/baldwin-to-b-towns-first-illegal-full.html?m=0
Baldwin FIRED BY PA https://www.wmur.com/article/atkinson-nh-selectman-william-baldwin-terminated-public-safety-job-pennsylvania/39545117#
This article was buried by the Eagle Tribune. Does Jason Grosky still have influence after being an ET employee and Count Attorney?
https://www.eagletribune.com/search/?l=25&sd=desc&s=start_time&f=html&t=article%2Cvideo%2Cyoutube%2Ccollection&q=Atkinson+Baldwin+
Now that PA fired him, he can come back to Atkinson and pretend to be an interested selectman. Nothing to see here, move on.
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