Alleged arsonist to be arraigned

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:10:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

A Weare man who allegedly set another resident’s home on fire in April is facing arson, burglary and criminal threatening charges in Superior Court.

A Goffstown District Court judge decided on April 24 that there was probable cause to move forward with the case against Peter Walsh, 27, of 126 Abijah Road, whom Weare police said entered the Mt. William Pond home of Vernon Hamel, 46, and started a fire in addition to threatening Hamel’s life.

Walsh is scheduled to appear in Hillsborough Superior Court on Friday, Aug. 1, for arraignment. In Weare police Detective Lou Chatel’s affidavit, Walsh allegedly broke windows in Hamel’s home with two-by-fours at around 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 12.

Hamel got up to investigate the noise, he told police in interviews, and saw Walsh outside.

Walsh then allegedly climbed through one of the windows and entered the house.

“Having no way to exit, Mr. Hamel grabbed a pieced of wood and went toward the front room and now saw Peter Walsh standing inside his house next to a wall that was on fire. Mr. Hamel stated that Walsh said he was ‘going to burn him out,’” Chatel wrote in the affidavit.

At that point, Hamel said he picked up a piece of wood and struck Walsh, simultaneously pushing him toward the front door.

When Walsh was outside, Hamel told police, he allegedly pointed a gun at Hamel through the window and threatened to shoot him. When police arrived at Walsh’s Abijah Road home later in the day to question him, they also searched the premises and found a .357 handgun in his truck.

The fire fully involved the home, and Walsh allegedly drove off in a green car. Hamel fled the home and went to his brother’s home next door, police said.

A K-9 unit went through the house to detect accelerants, but nothing of that nature was found. After examining electrical wires and outlets, the wood stove, heater and other possible sources, fire investigators determined there was no evidence of accidental causes for the fire’s eruption.

The fire started in the front part of the home by the kitchen, according to the affidavit.

While there was little evidence found at the scene, investigators did find clean broken glass outside below a window outside the home.

State fire investigator Keith Rodenhiser testified at the hearing that accidental causes, which included a nearby wood stove, electrical cords and outlets were ruled out after finding no deficiencies.

“The glass is significant because it proves the window was broken out prior to the ignition of the fire rather than as a result of the fire,” the affidavit said.

Investigators have been looking into past interactions between Walsh and Hamel, and there is some information to indicate there may have been a sexual assault at some point, authorities said.

“Walsh may have been a victim of an alleged sexual assault in the past,” said Rodenhiser on the stand, adding the claim is under investigation.

Chatel was also called as a witness, and said on the stand that Hamel has no convictions on his record, but that the police had dealt with him previously regarding allegations against him of aggravated felonious sexual assault, lewdness and animal cruelty.

When investigators questioned Hamel’s family members, who live next door, his sister-inlaw mentioned that there had been an altercation between Walsh and Hamel this past December in which Hamel was beaten.

No police reports of that incident were made, according to Chatel, but investigators are aware of a history that the sister- in-law declined to elaborate on with police, according to the affidavit.

House destroyed, man charged with arson

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:29:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

A Weare man has been charged with arson, criminal threatening, burglary and two counts of reckless conduct after he allegedly broke into a house and burned it down.

Police arrested Peter Walsh, 27, of 126 Abijah Road on Sunday, April 13, for breaking into and setting a house on fire and pointing a gun at the home owner shortly before 5 a.m. on Saturday, April 12.

At his arraignment in Goffstown District Court on Monday, April 14, a judge set Walsh’s bail at $50,000 cash.

Weare police detective and prosecutor Lou Chatel said he asked for $100,000 bail due to the severity of the crimes alleged, but given Walsh’s lack of a substantial criminal record, the request was denied. “Last I knew, he was headed back to Valley Street,” Chatel said.

According to Chatel’s police affidavit, which includes testimony from other officers and state fire marshal inspectors, Vernon Hamel was asleep when he heard what sounded like his door being broken down at around 4:30 a.m. on April 12.

When he emerged from his bedroom to investigate the noise, Hamel told police he saw Walsh outside of his home heading toward the back of his house.

In an interview with Chatel and Fire Marshal officer Stacey Dubois, Hamel said Walsh had shown up at his home in December 2007 and repeatedly punched Hamel in the face when the front door opened.

Another witness to the fire on April 12 said Hamel and Walsh had problems in the past, as far back as 10 years ago, according to the affidavit.

Chatel said police are still looking into that past relationship, adding there are no police reports relating to it.

Hamel said in the interview that the phone didn’t work when he attempted to call 911 after seeing Walsh outside, and a check of the phone cable leading to the home revealed it had been cut. A large piece of wood shattered one of the front windows, according to the affidavit, which Hamel said he believed Walsh retrieved from a pile of similar wood outside Hamel’s home. After a second window was broken, Hamel said, he went to the back of the home and heard someone climbing into the house.

“Having no way to exit, Mr. Hamel grabbed a pieced of wood and went towards the front room and now saw Peter Walsh standing inside his house next to a wall that was on fire. Mr. Hamel stated that Walsh said he was ‘going to burn him out,’” Chatel wrote in the affidavit.

At that point, according to the affidavit, Hamel said he picked up a piece of wood and struck Walsh, simultaneously pushing him toward the front door.

When Walsh was outside, Hamel said he tried using a fire extinguisher in an attempt to smother the flames. Walsh was breaking more windows, Hamel reported.

Hamel then told police he looked up through one window to find Walsh standing outside with a gun pointed at him. Hamel said Walsh told him he was going to shoot him.

When the escalating fire prevented Walsh from entering the home again, he drove off in what Hamel said was a green Toyota, similar to one he had seen Walsh driving before, which he believed to belong to one of Walsh’s family members.

Hamel said in the interview that the same green car with the lights off came back down the street half an hour later. Fearing for his life, Hamel ran to his brother and sister-in-law’s home next door.

By the time police and fire personnel responded, the singlefamily wooden home was fully ablaze, making entry impossible. Officers found Hamel next door shortly after arriving.

When Weare police Sgt. James Carney arrived at Walsh’s home to question him later that afternoon, they discovered a green Toyota Prius sitting in Walsh’s driveway which they later found was registered to one of Walsh’s family members.

Walsh denied being at Hamel’s home at the time of the fire, but further questioning from Carney led Walsh to request counsel and deny he made the statement to Carney that he was not present, according to the affidavit.

A K-9 unit went through the house to detect accelerants, but nothing of that nature was found. After examining electrical wires and outlets, the woodstove, heater and other possible sources, fire investigators determined there was no evidence of accidental causes for the fire’s eruption.

The fire started in the front part of the home by the kitchen, according to the affidavit. While there was little physical evidence found at the scene, investigators did find clean broken glass outside below a window outside the home.

“The glass is significant because it proves the window was broken out prior to the ignition of the fire rather than as a result of the fire,” the affidavit says.

A probable cause hearing on the case is set for April 24 at 1 p.m. in Goffstown District Court.

Weare News : arson

Alleged arsonist to be arraigned

House destroyed, man charged with arson