Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Winchester police officer scheduled to appear in court

By Matt Nanci Sentinel Staff
 
A Winchester police officer who stands accused of pointing a loaded gun out a car window at another man will face a judge Wednesday in Keene. Kevin W. Martel, 25, who is a resident of Walpole, waived his right to an arraignment Dec. 2 in 8th Circuit Court District Division in Keene, where he was released on $5,000 personal recognizance. He’s scheduled to appear for a probable cause hearing Wednesday.
Martel faces charges of criminal threatening with a deadly weapon and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, class B felonies.
He has been on administrative leave since the Winchester Police Department learned from N.H. State Police he would be facing charges from the August incident, according to Police Chief Gary A. Phillips.
Prosecution of the Cheshire County case will be handled by the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, according to Cheshire County Attorney D. Chris McLaughlin. Court hearings will continue to be held in Keene.
On Aug. 21, Martel was driving on Main Street in Ashuelot when he pointed a loaded firearm out of the drivers’ side window at Joshua Parda, 30, as well as at potentially occupied homes, according to court documents.
Martel is required to have no contact with Parda and Sarah Payne. The relationship between Martel, Parda and Payne is not clear in court documents.
Martel has worked for the police department for 18 months, court documents show.
In August 2011, he was convicted of reckless conduct in Northfield, Vt., according to the documents.
He’s also a former member of the U.S. Army and was seen this summer standing with a gun outside the Keene armed forces recruitment center on West Street in the wake of the July 16 shooting at a recruitment center in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Matt Nanci can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1439, or mnanci@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @MNanciKS.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hearing postponed in criminal threatening case against Winchester cop

By ALYSSA DANDREA Sentinel Staff | Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2015 12:00 pm

A judge has postponed until Dec. 16 a probable cause hearing in the case against a Winchester police officer accused of pointing a loaded gun at another man.

Kevin W. Martel, 25, who is a resident of Walpole, was scheduled to appear Wednesday in 8th Circuit Court District Division in Keene, but requested that the hearing be continued in one week.


Martel’s attorney, Christopher F. Wells of Keene, filed Tuesday a motion to continue, in which he wrote that “There is a significant piece of discovery which has yet to be provided to the defense, but which the state has agreed to provide.” He did not provide any further details.


Assistant Hillsborough County Attorney Michael Valentine, who is prosecuting the case, did not object to the motion, according to court documents.


The Hillsborough office is handling the case in Cheshire County to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, according to Cheshire County Attorney D. Chris McLaughlin.


Martel faces charges of criminal threatening with a deadly weapon and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, class B felonies. He remains on administrative leave from the Winchester Police Department.


N.H. State Police allege that Martel was driving on Main Street in Ashuelot on Aug. 21 when he pointed a loaded firearm out of the driver’s side window at Joshua Parda, 30, as well as at potentially occupied homes, according to court documents.


Court documents do not say whether Martel and Parda knew each other at the time.

Anonymous said...

Looks like lack of leadership, maybe?

one big happy family said...

Who in the town hall might have a friend or family looking for a job at the PD?

Deputy Barney Fife said...

If one of us townsfolk pointed a loaded gun at someone, we would be arrested and not on "administrative leave" which I assume means paid vacation. Cops literally get away with murder and operate outside the laws they impose on others. This kind of special treatment of police who commit crimes is why there is such strong anti police sentiment. Lock the psycho bastard up like any other criminal.

Anonymous said...

Considering that many cops are not above raping, molesting, killing, abuse, bullying, and theft - and get away with it nearly all of the time, this is not a surprise. And all of those crimes have been committed by our public servants in many small NH towns. Have any of them done time? Nope. No wonder people don't trust the police anymore. Most of them are no better than criminals themselves. And the small minority that are good people fear for their jobs too much to report their fellow officers. The big blue gang strikes again.

Anonymous said...

Case against Winchester police officer moves forward

By ALYSSA DANDREA Sentinel Staff | Posted: Thursday, December 17, 2015 12:00 pm

A Winchester police officer accused of pointing a loaded gun at another man while on duty has waived his right to a probable cause hearing.

Kevin W. Martel, 25, who lives in Walpole, filed a waiver Monday in 8th Circuit Court District Division in Keene, and chose not to face a judge on charges of criminal threatening with a deadly weapon and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon.


The case against Martel will now be forwarded to Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene, where felony-level cases are heard.


N.H. State Police allege that Martel was driving on Main Street in Ashuelot on Aug. 21 when he pointed a loaded firearm out of the driver’s side window at Joshua Parda, 30, as well as at potentially occupied homes, according to court documents.


Court documents do not say whether Martel and Parda knew each other at the time.


Martel is on administrative leave from the Winchester Police Department.


Michael G. Valentine of the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office is prosecuting Martel in Cheshire County to ensure there is no conflict of interest with local prosecutors. He said Martel was on duty at the time of the incident.

Anonymous said...

Prosecutor: Winchester police officer accused of pointing loaded gun was on duty

By ALYSSA DANDREA Sentinel Staff | Posted: Friday, December 18, 2015 12:00 pm

The Winchester police officer accused of pointing a loaded gun at another man in August was on duty at the time of the alleged incident, according to a Hillsborough County prosecutor.

Two months after Kevin W. Martel’s arrest in October, attorney Michael G. Valentine said the officer was working at the time. Valentine is prosecuting the case in Cheshire County to ensure that there is no conflict of interest with local prosecutors.


Martel, 25, who lives in Walpole, remains on administrative leave from the Winchester Police Department where he’s worked for more than a year.


Winchester Police Chief Gary A. Phillips has repeatedly declined to comment on the case.


Martel is charged with criminal threatening with a deadly weapon and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon. N.H. State Police say he was driving on Main Street in Ashuelot Aug. 21 when he pointed a loaded gun out of a vehicle window at Joshua Parda, 30, as well as at potentially occupied homes.


Martel recently waived his probable cause hearing. The case will now be forwarded to Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene.