Allenstown Felon Arrested In Concord On 3 Warrants, 12 Charges

CONCORD, NH — New Hampshire State Police troopers and Concord police were on Manchester Street Sunday making a warrant arrest of an Allenstown man wanted on numerous charges.

Around 8 p.m., state troopers were tracking Evan Ward, 25, of Allenstown who had warrants from "several agencies across the state" for "various crimes of violence and property crimes," according to Sgt. Vincent Grieco of Troop D. In the past, he said, Ward had "fled from police on several prior occasions." Ward was arrested without incident and held in the Merrimack County Jail pending arraignment.

The charges from state police include felony receiving stolen property, two counts of disobeying an officer, two counts of operating with a suspended license, reckless conduct, reckless operation, and speeding in Concord and Epsom. Charges by Lancaster police including theft of a firearm and felon in possession of a firearm, both felonies. Ward was also wanted by Manchester police for felony theft by unauthorized taking, a motor vehicle, and operating with a suspended license.

Stolen Vehicle — Moments After Being Released From Jail

The state police case and the theft from Manchester stem from an incident on July 17.

Around 2:45 a.m., a state trooper clocked a vehicle driving 96 mph in a 65 mph zone on Interstate 93 and I-393 reaching speeds of more than 100 mph, according to an affidavit. The vehicle, a 2017 Nissan Juke, "swerved recklessly in an attempt to elude police" during the chase but it was terminated later on Route 4 after state troopers lost the vehicle around the Epsom traffic circle.

The Juke, the state trooper learned later, was reported stolen around 2 a.m. from a business on Elm Street in Manchester. Video footage recorded the theft to be a man dressed in black. The Juke was found later on Buck Street in Pembroke — not far from where Ward was living at the time.

The trooper also learned Ward had just been released from the Valley Street Jail in Manchester after being arrested on July 14, a suspect in a similar incident and chase the previous week.

Police in Manchester eyed their arrest footage, video from the jail, and from the Elm Street business and accused Ward of stealing the Juke based on the clothing worn in all the footage.

"In reviewing the body worn camera footage of that incident, at the time of his arrest, Evan was wearing a distinctive black T-shirt with a large Nintendo 64 logo," a Manchester police affidavit said. "Evan was released from VSJ on 7/17/20 at 1:53 a.m. In the video recovered from Valley St. Jail, Evan is still wearing the same clothes he was arrested in on 7/14."

On Elm Street, Ward, the affidavit said, was walking past the Juke and then, returned, entered the vehicle, and drove off.

"In this video," police wrote, "you can see the multi-colored Nintendo 64 log on Evan's shirt as he enters the vehicle."

Ward is due back in Coos County Superior Court Sept. 14 to face the stolen weapon charges related to a separate case, in Hillsborough County Superior Court North Sept. 16, and Merrimack County Superior Court on Nov. 3.

Stolen Vehicle, Others Charges In Concord

Around 9 a.m. on June 19, 2019, a state trooper on Interstate 93 South noticed "a fast moving vehicle" had just entered the highway and was speeding.

The trooper clocked the vehicle, a Volkswagen Jetta, at between 78 and 85 mph in four readings before it left the highway at Exit 13. The trooper pulled the vehicle over near Gulf Street and spoke with the driver, Ward, who reportedly did not have a license or a vehicle registration. A passenger in the vehicle was also identified as a woman from Boscawen.

When asked why he was speeding, the trooper accused Ward of saying he had no emergency and was just driving to Burger King, according to an affidavit.

The trooper went back to his cruiser and checked the Jetta's plate and it came back registered to a 2016 Dodge Ram out of Concord and not to Ward, the report said. The trooper also accused Ward of not giving him his correct address or the last four digits of his Social Security number.

The trooper walked back to the vehicle and asked Ward to step out with Ward countering if the passenger was able to leave, the report said. The trooper said she was not allowed to leave and accused Ward of hesitating.

When the trooper opened the driver's side door and requested Ward to step out, "Ward moved his right hand and shifted the vehicle in drive and sped off with the driver's side door open and quickly made a U-turn, squealing the tires." The trooper accused Ward of nearly "causing a crash" after another vehicle, heading toward South Main Street, had to slam on its brakes to keep from crashing into the Jetta.

A sergeant informed the trooper not to pursue the vehicle and later, state police learned Concord police had also received a report of a Jetta speeding on Manchester Street toward Pembroke. The trooper checked both addresses connected to Ward but did not find him and confirmed his name and likeness via a booking photo from Allenstown police from May 2019.

The owner of the plate from the Ram had taken his truck into a dealership on Manchester Street where a family member of passenger's worked earlier that day.

The next day, the trooper called the passenger, who he knew from "prior contact," and she "admitted that the driver was (Ward) and she had known he for a couple of months," the report said. Ward, the trooper said, told her the Jetta belonged to a "friend."

When Ward fled the scene, the trooper wrote, the passenger began yelling at him, claimed he was "driving recklessly," and was running stop lights and signs to flee the area. Ward, she said, ditched the car by a trail on Integra Drive near the New Hampshire State Lottery as well as a .22 caliber long rifle.

"She said when Ward ditched the gun that it 'snapped in two,'" the report said.

The woman said she believed Ward lived in a homeless camp in the area between Integra Drive and the Soucook River.

That same day, the trooper was able to track the Jetta's vehicle identification number to another dealership in Bow that purchased it the vehicle June 12, 2019, and then moved it to Manchester Street for storage the next day. It was not moved from that location — with the trooper surmising that it was stolen between June 13, and June 19, 2019.

Ward pleaded guilty in January to receiving stolen property, reckless conduct, disobeying an officer, and resisting.

Prior Cases

Ward was previously found guilty of operating after revocation or suspension in October 2018, for failure to pay child support, and September 2019 in Hookset District Court. He was also arrested in Concord in April 2019 on an operating without a license charge and was accused of drug possession in Barnstead in June 2019 but that charge was ultimately nolle prossed. Ward was arrested in Concord later in June 2019 on a state police warrant, a bench warrant for nonappearance in court on a theft by unauthorized taking charge, and a willful concealment charge.

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Merrimack County Superior Court and New Hampshire State Police and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the removal request process for New Hampshire Patch police reports.

Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube channel.