3 From Concord Face Riot, Assault, And Other Charges After Depot Street Melee: Follow-Up

CONCORD, NH — Three Concord residents were arrested on Thursday connected to a melee in Downtown Concord that originated at a bar with a history of violence and assaults.

Matayo Riley, 26, of Thompson Street, Evan Bailey, 21, of Dunklee Street, and Sincere Thomas, 24, of Thompson Street, were all arrested on various charges connected to a fight on Depot Street on Aug. 20.

Around 12:45 a.m., police were sent to a report of a fight involving close to a dozen people, with at least two people on the ground. When cops arrived, they found a 20-year-old woman, unconscious on the ground with severe injuries and a 23-year-old man sitting next to her, attempting to tend to their wounds. A third man, also 23, was also assisting them.

The victims, when questioned, said at least three people. One victim was unsure of how the woman ended up on the ground. One of the men said the altercation started on North Main Street, outside of Wow Billiard and Bar, and as they attempted to leave the area, they were chased down. On Depot Street, “five or six dudes,” the man said, began kicking and punching him.

The woman was taken to Concord Hospital with a fractured skull requiring staples, brain bleeds, and bruising all over her body, and she was covered in blood.

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During the investigation, Thomas, who was known to police due to several other priors, “arrived on the scene for an unknown reason” and began speaking with officers, an affidavit said. One of the men who was assaulted immediately pointed to him and said, “That’s one of them,” the report said, adding he was “the main aggressor” who approached him on Depot Street.

Thomas, according to an officer’s report, “was yelling things,” claiming he wanted to “fight the individuals on Depot Street since they assaulted his friend.” The officer confirmed Thomas and two of the victims were involved in the original incident outside Wow, according to the report.

Thomas was wearing a white shirt which “appeared to have a large amount of apparent blood on it,” but he “denied being involved in the incident,” an affidavit stated.

About nine hours later, a detective spoke with the woman at the hospital.

She stated while one of the men was being attacked on Depot Street, she attempted to stop an assaulter by jumping on his back.

Later that day, police interviewed the male victim to try and find more suspects. He also sustained a concussion during the melee, a report said. The victim told police his cream-colored Nikes with a black swoosh were also stolen during the incident.

On Aug. 21, police executed a search warrant of Thomas’ unit at the Kennedy Apartments on Thompson Street, a public housing building owned by Concord Housing + Redevelopment slated for the elderly and-or disabled, in an effort to find the shirt he was wearing the morning before. He was also reinterviewed again, a detective said. Thomas claimed the male victim punched a friend in the face and his friend said, “Where’s that dude at?,” the detective wrote. Thomas was accused of confirming he found the man on Depot Street and “beat his ass.”

The detective wrote in the affidavit that cream-colored Nikes with a black swoosh were found in Thomas’ living room as well as a Glock handgun case without the gun.

When questioned about the gun case, Thomas said he was holding onto for “someone named Evan,” the report said. When asked if it was Bailey he was referring to, “Sincere stopped responding to questions,” the affidavit said.

Bailey, the detective wrote, was on probation after a theft incident at the Common Man in Claremont in December 2022. At the time of the arrest, a stolen Glock handgun was in his possession. The detective checked the serial number of the gun involved in the incident and the box found in Thomas’ apartment and they matched.

A report stated Riley, Thomas’ roommate, was also questioned during the search.

The report said the victim’s sneakers were inside Thomas’ apartment. Riley was accused of admitting to stealing the sneakers from the victim during the melee on Depot Street.

Riley was arrested by police for simple assault on July 29, after a previous incident at Wow, and was out on personal recognizance.

Detectives also eyed video footage from the area and confirmed the victims were walking down Depot Street, and Thomas and Bailey walked toward both of them, a detective wrote.

The second man, who was a witness on Depot Street, also confirmed Thomas to be one of the assaulters based on being shown a photo on Instagram, an affidavit stated. The witness said he tried to pull Thomas off the man, and after, Thomas threatened him, saying, “I don’t want to have to hurt you, too. Get your hands off me,” a report said.

According to an affidavit against Bailey, another witness, a woman in her early 20s, who was seen with him, confirmed he was involved, and that they were at Wow earlier in the evening before the fighting.

This led to search warrants for Bailey and his Dunklee Street residence.

Bailey, who works for a trucking company in Hopkinton, was questioned at work and was accused of being “very dishonest” with the detective and “provided details that were inconsistent with previously obtained evidence.” Eventually, though, he cooperated and confirmed he was at the melee, was shouting at the two people, pushed the woman to the ground, and hit her in the head, the affidavit said.

On Thursday, Bailey was charged with riot and second-degree assault charges, both felonies, as well as disorderly conduct, reckless conduct, and simple assault. Riley was charged with riot and robbery, both felonies, as well as disorderly conduct and breach of bail charges. Thomas was arrested on riot and robbery-accomplice charges, both felonies, as well as simple assault, disorderly conduct, criminal threatening, and two receiving stolen property charges.

All three were arraigned Friday in Merrimack County Superior Court.

According to superior court paperwork, Bailey’s December 2022 case has been reopened due to a probation violation. In the original case, he was charged with criminal threatening-deadly weapon and receiving stolen property, both felonies, as well as theft by unauthorized taking-less than $1,000. Bailey pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor theft charge and the other counts were nolle prossed. He received a six-month sentence, suspended for two years, with a one-year probation term and restitution payment of $27.96. Bailey has a probation hearing on Oct. 26.

Thomas, according to reports on Patch, has been arrested during the past few years on simple assault, criminal mischief, theft, obstructing the report of a crime or injury, and criminal trespass charges and warrants.

Wow Billiard has been a magnet for violence during the six months with police and firefighters being sent to the bar for several fights.

E.J. Powers of Montagne Powers, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, was unable to confirm at post time the status of any investigation into Wow and all of its problems by the state licensing process.

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