Marblehead Arrest of NH Contractor Charged With Stealing Deposits

MARBLEHEAD, MA — A New Hampshire contractor accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars from homeowners on the North Shore for work he did not do was located and arrested in Marblehead on Tuesday.

Marblehead police and Newburyport police said Robert J. Merrill, 32, was taken into custody on six active arrest warrants charging him with larceny of more than $1,200. Two of the warrants were out of Newburyport.

Newburyport police, as well as police departments in West Newbury, Merrimac, Amesbury, Haverhill and North Reading, had been seeking Merrill for a year after he was accused of taking what was described as "large deposits of money for home improvement work" and then never performing the work.

Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King assisted Newburyport City Marshal Mark Murray and lead investigator Newburyport Det. Chris McDonald to develop a possible location where Merrill was working in Marblehead. The U.S. Veterans Affairs Police and North Reading police also assisted in determining Merrill's location.

"This was a lengthy investigation into alleged crimes that cost homeowners tens of thousands of dollars, and this arrest is the direct result of the collaborative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies," Murray said. "We are grateful for the support of Marblehead police and all of our law enforcement partners on the North Shore."

Merrill was arraigned in Newburyport District Court on Wednesday and held on $50,000 cash bail.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)