CONCORD, NH — A felon from Concord, involved in a shooting more than two years ago in Downtown Concord, is facing a slew of new charges after a three-week investigation into thefts and burglaries on the Concord Heights and other incidents.
Jeremy Ducharme, 42, of Fisherville Road in Concord, was arrested on Monday after three incidents since mid-August. He was arrested on receiving stolen property-firearm, felon in possession of a dangerous weapon, felonious use of a firearm, falsifying physical evidence, and two possession of controlled drug charges, all felonies. Ducharme was also arrested on resisting arrest, felony falsifying physical evidence, and felony possession of controlled drug charges. He was also arrested on criminal mischief-accomplice, theft by unauthorized taking-less than $1,000-accomplice, and criminal trespass charges.
Around 3:45 p.m. on Aug. 15, an officer was patrolling the area of the Steeplegate Mall and the former Regal Cinema due to a recent increase in thefts and burglaries on the properties.
While near the Zoo Health Club, an officer saw a man carrying a blue and silver tarp. As the officer drove by, the man, described as white, stopped and hesitated briefly. The officer looked in a mirror and saw the man turn around and walk away toward a guardrail. The man bent down, placed the tarp and items inside onto the ground, and pushed them under the guardrail. The man then walked away.
The officer turned around and went to the scene, and reported the man was now speaking with a black man in the lot. The black man started walking toward the item while the white man spoke with him. The white man then got into a Chrysler minivan and left the area.
There were no other vehicles in the lot, the officer wrote.
The officer ran the plate of the minivan, a New Hampshire registration with veteran designation. The officer then drove over to the guardrail, approached the item and tarp, and found the stock of a gun, which appeared to be wooden, sticking out from under the tarp. The officer checked and found two firearms — a shotgun missing a barrel and a green camo rifle that was taped up.
The officer checked the shotgun, and the serial number said it was reported stolen from Texas in April 1990, but the number did not match the shotgun. The rifle had no serial number — it appeared to have been filed down.
Other officers arrived and began looking for the man, including in a large homeless camp nearby in the woods. No one was there. A few minutes later, a description of the minivan was issued, and it was found near Sheep Davis Road. Officers followed the van into the Walmart parking lot.
When the minivan stopped, the reporting officer said two rear passengers “were moving erratically in the vehicle and appeared to be hiding something.” The reporting officer confirmed the vehicle was the same minivan they saw at the former mall, and the driver was the same man they saw before, hiding the guns, a report stated.
An affidavit identified the driver as Ludwig Haken, 39. He was detained, placed in handcuffs, and taken to a police cruiser. At press time, it is unknown what he was charged with.
The reporting officer said there were three other people in the vehicle.
Richard Fortier, 35, had multiple cash electronic bench warrants and was arrested.
The reporting officer wrote there were other people in the rear seat and “appeared to be trying to hide something in a bag and moving it underneath the rear seat.” One passenger, a woman, 45, exited the vehicle and was detained but not placed in handcuffs, the report stated. The second person in the backseat, Ducharme, was also detained but not handcuffed.
Ducharme was read his Miranda rights and questioned about the incident at the mall and what was going on in the homeless camp. He was accused of remaining silent and was asked again if he wanted to talk.
“(Ducharme) thought about it briefly but ultimately said, ‘I think I should have a lawyer here with me,’” the affidavit said.
Ducharme, the officer noted, had “multiple contacts” with police, including an arrest out of Strafford County Superior Court on Aug. 12 on a drug warrant, a warrant in December 2023 on drug dealing and possession charges, and an unauthorized use of a firearm warrant connected to an incident in 2022.
The reporting officer spoke with the woman. She was read her rights. During questioning, she seemed “confused,” the officer wrote and did not appear to know anything about the mall incident. The woman said she worked all day and met up with the others at Dairy Queen on Loudon Road earlier. She said she did not know Haken but did know Ducharme. She also denied knowing what was in the minivan.
The reporting officer said the woman was involved with Ducharme at the campsite and sometimes crashed at the Royal Gardens apartment complex. He claimed the woman had “numerous track marks” on her hands and arms because of intravenous drug use. The officer claimed she appeared lethargic while speaking, and her eyes were barely open.
Haken was read his rights and questioned, the officer said. He was asked about the guns and the tarp and denied it was him, the affidavit said. When told the suspect was wearing the same clothes and looked the same, he said he did not know what the officer meant, and “I don’t understand,” the report stated. Multiple times later, the officer accused him of saying, “Allegedly, if someone found weird sh-t on the ground, they would pick it up.”
When asked why he would not report finding the guns to the police instead of hiding them under a guardrail, Haken “had no answer with this and just continued by saying he was confused or didn’t know what I was talking about,” the report stated.
Fortier was also read his rights and spoken to, but he said, “I don’t have anything to speak to you about.” He was then taken to the county. One of the bench warrants was for drug possession out of Rockingham County.
While at Walmart, another officer told the reporting officer he had been working on a stolen gun case from Aug. 9. The gun, a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm handgun, the officer said, was stolen from the tenant who the woman sometimes crashed with at Royal Gardens. The victim of the gun theft said a third woman knew about the gun and constantly hung out with the other woman and Ducharme, the report stated. The officer investigating the Aug. 9 stolen gun incident said Ducharme was arrested earlier in the day.
The reporting officer returned to the vehicle and saw a small black leather case, zipped shut, similar to a works kit, under the driver seat as far back as possible to be hidden. There was also trash around the driver’s seat, a backpack, and a camo backpack, the report said, as well as a vape, cell phone, and trash on the seat itself. There was also a BMX bike, a bucket with tools, and other items. In the backseat, the officer reported seeing a fanny pack and another bag with red zippers. There was also burnt tin foil on the floors of the rear seats and lighters scattered on the minivan floor.
A minivan was seized and taken to police headquarters. A search warrant was requested and granted.
Inside, police reportedly found a Bible, a wallet, backpacks, food, wrappers, soda bottles, books, and phone chargers. Police also found cups from DQ, a prescription bottle of doxycycline hyclate belonging to a fourth woman, in her early 20s, and amoxicillin. Bail paperwork for “Ludwig Haken II” out of Hooksett Circuit Court from Allenstown police with a hearing date of July 18.
There were other prescription medication bottles, 1.32 grams of crystal methamphetamine, alprazolam, hydrochloride pills used for cold sores and herpes, and oxycodone also found in the van.
In another section, a backpack containing vice grips, torque wrenches, wire cutters, and other tools was found. A Nintendo Switch and games were also found along with a baggie of crystal methamphetamine, the report said. A journal, a battery, and a hollowed-out silver bullet container with crystal methamphetamine were also found, about 1.15 grams worth.
In the backseat, police found drug paraphernalia, bail paperwork for Ducharme, capped needles, two digital scales, baggies of drugs including 5.94 grams of crystal methamphetamine, 10.04 grams of heroin-fentanyl, 2.59 grams of heroin-fentanyl, 7.8 grams of crystal meth, and 11.13 grams of heroin-fentanyl, an affidavit said.
Inside the fanny pack was the handgun stolen from Royal Gardens, the affidavit said. It was loaded with a bullet in the chamber and 11 in the clip.
Later that evening, another search warrant was requested after the reporting officer saw what appeared to be an assault rifle magazine underneath the backseat of the van.
On Aug. 20, after receiving the warrant, the search and documentation of the minivan continued.
Inside a backpack, the reporting officer found a J-22 .22 caliber handgun with a single bullet in the fire chamber. After checking the serial number, it was deemed not stolen. Another bullet, a knife, a digital scale, and more crystal meth were also found.
The officer wrote nothing else was found, and the rifle magazine turned out to be an airsoft rifle magazine.
Based on where Ducharme was seen in the minivan, a warrant was issued for his arrest on Sept. 3 on the stolen gun, drug possession, felon in possession, and felonious use charges.
The mischief, theft, and trespass charges, according to an affidavit, were connected to an incident around 5 p.m. on Aug. 21 after police were sent to Caring Family Dentistry on Loudon Road for an incident.
Dispatch said there were not many details about the incident.
The reporting officer arrived and said the business appeared to be closed. A woman came to the door and stated the property owners had called and were in the vacant lot next to the business.
The officer went to speak to the owners, who stated due to people parking in the vacant lot overnight and causing “scenes,” they started blocking the two entryways to the lot with heavy-duty cable wires. When they arrive at the business in the morning, they remove the wires so their employees can park.
The night before, they noticed the wires were cut in multiple places and the carabiners damaged. Posts were destroyed, and two other posts were missing entirely.
The owners reported to the officer that on Aug. 19, two men, who had no business being in the lot, were seen on the property. The men were described as white. One had a bike, while the other wore a red tank top and had a backpack.
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A security video was provided to the officer, and he immediately recognized one of the men as Ducharme from “previous encounters on the job,” an affidavit said. The second man was identified later as Timothy Casey, 22. He was also recognized “from previous encounters on the job,” the officer stated. Casey had been arrested about three days before by the officer, the report said.
The officer said the video showed Ducharme and Casey walking in the area, the report stated. Casey appeared to be carrying a bolt cutter, the officer alleged. Casey was accused of cutting the wires while Ducharme “sat on the guardrail and appeared to be acting as a lookout for Tim,” the officer said.
After the wire was cut, Casey was accused of “stuffing something” into his backpack, which the officer believed was part of the cable wire “he just cut.” Ducharme then “appeared” to assist Casey in putting the wire into the backpack.
Later, Casey was seen grabbing something from underneath a dumpster, the affidavit said.
Private property and no trespassing signs were on the property, the officer noted, and could be seen from the security footage.
A warrant was issued for Ducharme’s arrest on Aug. 31. According to police blotters, Casey has not been arrested yet.
Deputy Chief John Thomas said Ducharme was arrested on the warrants Monday. During the arrest, which occurred around 10:15 p.m., police accused him of fleeing from officers.
“But,” Thomas said, “(he) was later located and apprehended.”
Ducharme was taken to police headquarters, refused bail, and was taken to county. He was due to be arraigned in Concord District Court Tuesday.
According to superior court records, Ducharme is a felon due to a reckless conduct-deadly weapon conviction in August 2023, after an incident in Concord in April 2022. He was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for three years.
In Rochester, about four months later, he was accused of acts prohibited again. He was charged in mid-July. On Sept. 3, Ducharme failed to appear in Strafford County Superior Court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
In October 2019, Ducharme was arrested on an acts prohibited felony charge after an incident on Hooksett. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in April 2020 and received a 12-month sentence and $620 fine, both suspended for a year.
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