MANCHESTER, NH – The prosecution reached an agreement to resolve the case against Donald Pierce, 56, of Manchester, who agreed to plead guilty to an enhanced first-degree assault charge and, on August 27, 2025, was sentenced to serve 10 to 30 years in state prison. He was immediately remanded to custody.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred just over a year ago, on July 7, 2024.
According to the indictments, on July 7, 2024, Pierce, who was naked, picked up a paver and tried to strike the 86-year-old man in the head with it while yelling “I’m going to kill you.” He also is accused of repeatedly hitting Ned Tarmey in the head with a patio chair, causing him to suffer a brain injury, and repeatedly punched him while yelling, “You’re going to die. I’m going to kill you.”
Tarmey was hospitalized with a brain bleed and other injuries he suffered in the assault. Tarmey told WMUR that he was letting his dog, Kane, out about 1 a.m. that day when a naked Pierce attacked him.
“I thought I was going to die,” Tarmey said when interviewed. “He was going to murder me. I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t stop him.”
That same day inside his home, Pierce also is accused of hitting C.P., an intimate partner, in the head numerous times with a paint can, causing bleeding and bruising.
The victim was transported to a local hospital and survived his injuries. Pierce was arrested at the scene following a violent struggle with officers.