crime

DeNaro to Address Haverhill Violence at Council Meeting: ‘This Should Not Be the New Normal’

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Haverhill City Council President John A. Michitson is speaking for the city and saying ‘enough.’ In the wake of a dozen shootings and stabbings over the last nine months—two of them fatal—Michitson, along with Councilor Michael S. McGonagle, has requested Haverhill Police Chief Alan R. DeNaro update residents on the efforts to curb gang-related violence. On Tuesday night, DeNaro plans to do just that. On Friday, Michitson told his constituents he has “serious concern” for the safety of Haverhill at large after a spate of what he calls “senseless violence.”

“This should not be the new normal,” Mitchitson said. “It is a serious concern that warrants our full attention. As a community, we need to come together to ensure the safety of all Haverhill citizens.”

As WHAV previously reported, Haverhill men Jeffrey Larkin and Nike Colon were gunned down 11 days apart in May 2018, with Colon’s murder triggering what police called an all-out “gang war” in the city.

Crime

Plaistow Walmart Shoplifter Who Fled on Bicycle Banned From Store, Owes $2.50 in Restitution

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A Plaistow, N.H. woman who stole from Walmart and attempted to evade loss prevention personnel by fleeing on her bicycle has been banned from the department store for one year, WHAV has confirmed. As WHAV first brought you in January, Krista Browning took $136 in assorted merchandise from the Plaistow Road store before she was located behind Staples by Plaistow police. Her bag with the stolen merchandise inside, was stashed behind a dumpster, Capt. Brett Morgan told WHAV at the time. Facing a judge at sentencing Friday, Browning pleaded guilty to the theft charge and was ordered to pay a fine of $1,240, half of which will be suspended if she stays out of trouble for one year. In exchange for her suspended sentence, Browning had to pay the chain $2.50 in restitution.

Crime

Haverhill Police Nab Two for Drug Trafficking at Main Street McDonald’s

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Two out-of-town men were taken into custody Wednesday night at the Main Street McDonald’s, Haverhill Police confirm. Merrimac 30-year-old John Sheehan and 37-year-old Matthew Simons of Plaistow, N.H. were arrested by Detectives Dana Burrill Jr. and Sean Harrison just before 9 p.m. Feb. 20. Both men are charged with fentanyl trafficking and conspiracy to violate drug laws. Simons must also answer to several other warrant-related offenses, police said.

Crime

Groveland Police Arrest Haverhill Woman for Drunken Driving After She Hits Gas Meters

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A 43-year-old Haverhill woman was arrested Monday after Groveland Police say she drove under the influence of alcohol and crashed her SUV into several gas meters and caused a gas leak. Groveland Police responded to a 911 call just before 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 18 for a report that a 2015 Nissan Murano, allegedly driven by Shelly M. Smith, had crashed into an island of exposed National Grid meters on 7 Star Road at Broad Street. Police charged Smith with operating under the influence and National Grid was dispatched to the scene to repair a broken pipe that started the gas leak. Smith was treated on scene for what police said were “non-life threatening” injuries.

Crime

Haverhill Police Investigate Home Shooting Off Lowell Ave.; No Injuries Reported

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No one was injured Saturday night when bullets were fired into a single-family home off Lowell Avenue. Haverhill Police confirmed the shooting and continue to investigate. Officers were sent to the 60 Rockland St. home just before 9 p.m. after receiving calls. Police do not believe the shooting was a random act.

Haverhill

Haverhill Receives $214K State Grant to Combat Gang Violence

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Beacon Hill is helping Haverhill combat gang violence. On Monday, the Baker-Polito Administration announced the city will share in more than $214,000 of state funding to curb youth violence in the Merrimack Valley. This year, a shared grant in the amount of $185,000 has been awarded to Haverhill and Methuen, with an additional grant of nearly $30,000 earmarked for the cities’ UMass Lowell site. All told, Haverhill and Methuen saw nearly $58,000 in added funds compared to 2018. The money, allocated through the Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr., Community Safety Initiative (Shannon CSI) Grant Program, is a worthwhile investment in Haverhill, Police Chief Alan R. DeNaro said in a statement.

Crime

Groveland Police Arrest Two Haverhill Men for Alleged Heroin Possession

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Two Haverhill men were arrested last weekend for alleged heroin possession in Groveland, that town’s Chief Jeffrey Gillen reports. Thirty-one-year-old Nicholas Leo and 34-year-old Andre Bergeron were taken into custody during a motor vehicle stop on Saturday, Feb. 9 around 11:20 a.m. According to Gillen, Leo allegedly crossed the double yellow line three times. During the stop, police located and seized seven grams of heroin inside the car and on Bergeron. Both men are charged with possession of heroin and possession of Alprazolam and Adderall without a prescription.

Region

Ohio Woman Gets Probation for Fraudulent Plaistow, N.H. Gun Purchase

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Keri Horan was sentenced to two years of probation for falsifying details during a gun purchase in 2015. (File photograph)

An Ohio woman with previous ties to New Hampshire has been sentenced to two years of probation after officials said she falsified documents to purchase a firearm from a Plaistow, N.H. gun dealer in 2015. Keri Horan, formerly of Salem, N.H., was sentenced in federal court Jan. 24 to two years of probation and a $100 fine in connection with the case, the Department of Justice told WHAV. According to court documents, Horan purchased a 9 millimeter handgun from a Plaistow Road shop for Justin Weldy, a Massachusetts resident who once called Haverhill home.