January 2024 indictments from Hillsborough County Superior Court North

    Hillsborough County Superior Courthouse North. Photo/Jeffrey Hastings

    MANCHESTER, NH – A city man was indicted on 10 charges accusing him of breaking into a church, assaulting police officers and choking and punching a New Hampshire State Police dog named Ivy.

    Paul Lopez, 36, of 38 Hancock St., was indicted by the Hillsborough County Superior Court North grand jury on charges of burglary; two counts of cruelty to animals; two counts of simple assault; second-degree assault; three counts of resisting arrest/detention, and willful interference with a police dog.

    According to the indictments issued by the Hillsborough County Superior Court North grand jury, on Nov. 13, 2023, Lopez allegedly broke into Our Lady of Cedars Melkite Church, 140 Mitchell St. 

    Lopez/MPD

    When police arrived that night, someone – later identified by police as Lopez – was inside the church banging on a window.

    The Very Rev. Thomas Steinmetz, who is a retired Manchester police officer, told officers there were several firearms inside the building.  Police called for a K-9 and a state police trooper arrived about three hours later with Ivy.

    Prior to the police dog arriving, police continuously talked with Lopez in an attempt to get him to surrender.

    Eventually, Ivy was sent in but police said Lopez attacked the dog and choked her.

    In a narrow area inside the church, police said they couldn’t determine if Lopez was armed so an officer hit him in the head twice with the muzzle of a gun.

    Lopez allegedly then struggled with police and bit an officer’s small finger, breaking bones; kicked another officer in the legs, and kicked a state trooper in the arms.

    Also indicted was Troy R. Melvin, 35, of 10 Williams Way, Lyndeborough on 15 charges in connection with an alleged assault of an intimate partner on Nov. 22, 2023, leading to a standoff with police outside his home. If convicted on all charges he could face decades in prison.

    He is charged with four counts of domestic violence, criminal threatening; three counts of reckless conduct, deadly weapon; felon in possession of a dangerous weapon; three counts of attempted first-degree assault; falsifying physical evidence, and three counts of criminal threatening, deadly weapon.

    According to police, the incident began when Melvin allegedly assaulted his girlfriend at a Milford grocery store and then threatened her and fired a handgun after she drove him back to their trailer in Lyndeborough.

    State police arrived with their SWAT team to take over the investigation.  Melvin eventually gave up and was arrested.

    According to the indictments, Melvin had brandished a large, military-style knife and pistol and asked J.D., his intimate partner, “which one do you want?”  He also is accused of firing a gun three times in her direction.

    The falsifying evidence charge accuses him of hiding a black 25-caliber semi-automatic pistol in a hidden safe inside his residence.

    The criminal threatening charges accuses him of threatening three state police troopers when he said the “only way the day would end would be in a shoot-out with police” and that if he came outside, he “would be shooting.”

    Others among the 223 indictments handed up by the grand jury included:

    • Rebecca Aubuchont, 27, of 9 Highland Ave., 11A, Pelham, two counts of conspiracy to falsify, hide or destroy physical evidence. Between July 13 and 19, 2023, Aubuchont is accused of conspiring in Manchester with James Aubuchont to go to the Flat Mountain shelter in Sandwich to remove or hide firearms.  Between July 13 and July 15, 2023, she is accused of again conspiring with James Aubuchont when they planned for someone not identified in the indictment, to go to the Valley Street jail to retrieve James Aubuchont’s cellphone which allegedly contained child pornography.

    James Aubuchont, 52, of 557 Pine St., #6, is under indictment on 42 charges in connection with the sexual assault of two children and the possession, distribution and manufacturing of child sexual abuse images. According to the indictments, Aubuchont sexually abused two children, one from Feb. 1, 1998 to Jan. 31, 1999, and the other from June 16, 2018 to June 6, 2023.  Both were under the age of 13 when the alleged abuse began.

    • Kyle Babb, 27, of 32 Lane Drive, Chester, two counts of second-degree assault.  On Oct. 5, 2023 in Manchester, Babb is accused of repeatedly kicking RW in the face and stomping on his head when he was on the ground.
    • Bryon Bloomfield, 26, of 196 Belmont St., three counts each of first- and second-degree assault. On Nov. 4, 2023, Bloomfield is accused of using a box cutter to cut C.R’s neck, J.L.’s arm and K.V.’s arm.
    • Matthew Borden, 45, homeless, second-degree assault, domestic violence.  On Nov. 8, 2023, Borden is accused of hitting JD, an intimate partner, in the head with a metal broom stick, causing a laceration and hematoma to JD’s head.
    • James Conery, 43, of 24 Chatel Ave., Goffstown, domestic violence, two counts; domestic violence, sexual assault; false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child.  Between Sept. 3 and 5, 2022, Conery is accused of grabbing and squeezing a 11-year-old girl, impairing her breathing.  He also is accused of forcing the girl to submit to sexual contact through force when he pushed her against a bed and rubbed his genitals against her buttocks, and then held her there, preventing her from getting up.
    • Jernell Cook, 38, of 1000 Read St., Apt. B17, Attleboro, Mass., armed career criminal and receiving stolen property, a firearm.  Cook is accused of possessing the firearm on Sept. 13, 2023 in Manchester, while having been convicted of three separate felonies under assault and drug laws in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
    • Brandon Couturier, 40, of 1081 Somerville St., Apt. 1, second-degree assault. On Nov. 9, 2023, Couturier is accused of beating A.G. with a curtain rod causing visible injuries to her backside.
    • Rose Desfosses, 65, of 137 Orange St., arson and reckless conduct.  On Nov. 8, 2023, Desfosses is accused of placing a burning rag on the porch of her residence, which she knew was occupied at the time.
    • Tyler Dostie, 31, of P.O. Box 3362, Franklin, two counts of criminal threatening. On Oct. 20, 2023, Dostie is accused of twice pointing a firearm at M.S.
    • George DuGrenier, 29, of 574 Hall St., 3R, driving after license revocation resulting in death or serious bodily injury. On Feb. 23, 2023 DuGrenier is accused of driving while his license was suspended and being involved in a collision resulting in death or serious bodily injury.
    • Joseph Finan, 26, of 7 Railroad Ave., Derry, reckless conduct, deadly weapon, and criminal threatening.  On Sept. 12, 2023 in Manchester, Finan is accused of firing a handgun in a crowded parking lot and pointing it at M.R. and saying, “Who’s a bitch now?”
    • Richard Gurley, 28, homeless, assault by prisoner.  On Dec. 19, 2023 in the Valley Street jail Gurley punched A.W. in the face.
    • Drae-Shawn E. Hernandez, 28, who lists the FIT homeless shelter as his address, criminal threatening, deadly weapon, and possession of fentanyl.  On Nov. 6, 2023, Hernandez is accused of approaching S.M. in an aggressive manner while holding a manhole cover.
    • Calen Peter Kutrubes, 24, of 16 Random Road, Bedford, first-degree assault and witness tampering.  On May 5, 2023, in Bedford Kutrubes is accused of punching C.P. in the face causing a right orbital fracture.  Knowing an investigation was about to begin, he allegedly told C.P. to withhold information from police about how she was injured.
    • Aiden Medbury, 28, homeless, reckless conduct and receiving stolen property. On Nov, 13, 2023, Medbury is accused of driving a Saturn Vue, which he knew was stolen, at an unsafe speed through a parking lot, striking a vehicle and ultimately crashing into an occupied building.
    • Keon Mercer, 50, of 247 Grove St., four counts of burglary.  On Oct. 29, 2023, Mercer is accused of breaking into 223 South Willow St., a strip mall where Papa John’s is located along with other businesses.
    • Kenneth Muller, 53, of 106 Harrison St., nine counts of possession of child sexual abuse images. On Sept. 28, 2023, Muller is accused of possessing videos of children as young as two-years-old crying as they are being raped by men.
    • Wember (cq) Ramirez Sorto, 25, of 267 Silver St., 33, two counts felonious sexual assault; witness tampering, and two counts computer services use prohibited.  According to the indictments, between May 1 and Sept. 24, 2023, Ramirez Sorto is accused of engaging in sex with a girl who was 14-years-old. Twice, in November 2022, he is accused of electronically sending the teen explicit photos of himself.

    The witness tampering charge alleges that between Oct. 1 and Nov. 9, 2022, following a Child Advocacy Center interview of the teen, he messaged the girl that if his family ever put him in jail, he would kill them when he got out.

    • Dylan Reynolds, 38, of 322 Central St., 17 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault; second-degree assault; reckless conduct; witness tampering; two counts of criminal threatening, deadly weapon; 11 counts of simple assault, all misdemeanors; and one misdemeanor count of criminal threatening.

    According to the indictments, Between Jan. 28, 2023 and Feb. 10, 2023, Reynolds is accused of brutalizing his intimate partner by overcoming her with strength, threatening to use physical force on her or by using extortion to rape her repeatedly. He also is accused of putting a switchblade to her stomach and saying, “I have never done anything like this before, but you are making me,” and threatened to stab her.

    Reynolds also allegedly shoved a Suboxone pill down her throat, causing her to immediately go into detox.

    The simple assault charges accuse Reynolds of striking her in the mouth, breaking her teeth; repeatedly punching her in the face; headbutting her; smashing a phone over her head; spitting on her, and hitting her in the head with a hard object.

    He also is accused of threatening to kill her and her family.  “You don’t want to fuck with me,” he said, according to one indictment.

    • Cruz Roman, 39, of 443 Normand St., felonious sexual assault.  On Aug. 23, 2023, Roman is accused of having sexual contact with a child under the age of 13 when he placed the child’s hand on his penis and moved it back and forth.
    • Nelson Rosario, 21, of 371 Central St., six counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault. On Sept. 4, 2023, Rosario is accused of using force in raping a 17-year-old girl.  The girl told Rosario, “no,” according to the indictments and was physically helpless to resist.
    • Robert Shaw, 76, of 249 Back River Road, Bedford, two counts of a pattern of aggravated felonious sexual assault.  According to the indictments, between Jan. 1, 2020 and July 31, 2023, Shaw is accused of touching a child’s vagina and licking her buttocks beginning when she was 7-years-old.
    • Loriann Shelton, 38, of 39 Beech St., robbery and two counts of possession of fentanyl and methamphetamine.  On Oct. 20, 2023, Shelton is accused of aiding in the robbery of KT by distracting KT while Robert Jacques allegedly struck KT in the head and stole KT’s backpack.
    • Chandler Shepard, 28, of 49 Garden Drive, cruelty to animals.  On July 27, 2023, Shepard is accused of beating a cat, which had to be euthanized at Veterinary Emergency Center – Manchester.
    • Hakeem Shepherd, 36, of 82 Third St., reckless conduct, deadly conduct, and felon in possession of a dangerous weapon. On Nov. 23, 2023, Shepherd is accused of firing two to three shots out a kitchen window and up into the air.  Shepherd was previously convicted in 2008 of felony assault with a dangerous weapon in Middlesex Superior Court in Massachusetts, according to the indictment.
    • Leroy Simond, 52, of 85 Ashland St., 10 counts of possession of child sexual abuse images. On Oct. 23, 2023, Simond is accused of possessing 10 videos of children in sexually explicit conduct.
    • Kwame Stevens, 34, whose address is the FIT homeless shelter, 199 Manchester St., two counts of possession with the intent to sell fentanyl and crack cocaine.
    • Kathleen Vanuden, 60, of 49 Seton Road, Bedford, hindering apprehension.  On Sept, 9, 2021,Vanuden is accused of hindering the apprehension of her brother, Thomas Vanuden, who was wanted on a charge of aggravated felonious sexual assault, when she locked a door and refused to open it after her brother fled from officers through the door.
    • Mark Williams, 43, of 200 Westland Ave., two counts of armed career criminal; three counts of reckless conduct, deadly weapon; falsifying physical evidence; two counts of felon in possession of a dangerous weapon; disobeying an officer; receiving stolen property.  On Oct. 7, 2023, Williams is accused of firing a handgun in the area of Dubuque and Conant streets.  He is alleged to have later sold the handgun to impair its availability in an investigation.  The armed career criminal counts allege he was previously convicted of three felonies – drug possession, subsequent, armed robbery and sale of narcotics.

    Three days earlier, on Oct. 4, 2023 he is accused of reckless conduct for driving a stolen 2011 Toyota Camry erratically around the city in an attempt to evade police, placing the officers, public and others in danger of serious bodily injury.

    He is charged with a second armed career criminal offense after being in possession of a Sig Sauer 9 mm pistol on Oct, 27, 2023 in Goffstown.


    Publisher’s Note: This information is released monthly by the court to the media and is part of the public record.

    What is a Grand Jury indictment? According to the NH Law Library, an indictment is a criminal charge against a person by a Grand Jury. A Grand Jury considers evidence presented by the County Attorney or the Attorney General and decides whether there is sufficient evidence to formally charge a person with committing a crime. It is part of due process. Any accused individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law. If you have a question about this information contact the Hillsborough County Superior Court. If you have court documents to show that you have been cleared of charges, contact publisher@manchesterinklink.com.