MANCHESTER, NH – Thomas Stokes, 28, of Manchester, was arrested June 18 after allegedly shooting off fireworks from inside his residence that shattered a neighbor’s window and allegedly targeted workers at a nearby complex.
According to a police narrative, officers were dispatched to 470 Silver St. at about 10:50 a.m. Thursday for a fireworks complaint. The caller, Laurel Schaffer, told police she was seated on the couch of her apartment when an unknown object struck her window causing it to shatter.
Schaffer immediately looked outside and saw a man peering out of a window from the apartment house located across the street at 175 Lincoln Street. Officers began to investigate the criminal mischief complaint, entering the Lincoln Street apartment building to locate and speak with the person believed to be responsible for the mischief, later identified as Stokes.
Initially Stokes denied being home during the mischief call. However, a search of the apartment reveled he was in fact home at the time of the alleged incident, police said, and his girlfriend, Brittany Foskitt, 25, of Manchester was also inside of the home during the fireworks display. She was not criminally charged.
Based on their investigation, police believe Stokes allegedly opened his window and began firing high powered fireworks toward two workers in the area. The workers, identified as Mike Capone, 33, and Nick Gonios, 31, have been conducting maintenance on the Silver Street Towers property for the past two months and are not from the area. The maintenance includes utilizing a lift, which allows them to perform maintenance on the upper floors of the property.
The two men told police they felt “hot embers” and loud noises as they worked 30 feet above the ground. At one point Capone warned Gonios to “duck” because he watched Stokes shoot a “roman candle” toward them.
Based on the statements made by the three victims, Stokes was taken into custody. He was charged with reckless conduct (felony); criminal mischief (misdemeanor); false report to a law enforcement officer (misdemeanor); and detention and sanctions for default of breach of conditions.