Armed Career Criminal From Montana Gets 12.5 Years On Gun, Meth Charges After 2025 Vehicle Stop In Bow

CONCORD, NH — An armed career criminal, with violent convictions dating back to the early-to-mid-1980s in Massachusetts, was sent to prison for at least 12 and a half years on Tuesday on gun and methamphetamine possession charges.

Michael Vieu, 60, of Adams Street in Boulder, Montana, was convicted on armed career criminal and possession of a controlled drug-meth charges, both felonies, as part of a capped plea agreed to by his public defender, Aileen O’Connell, and Joshua Speicher, of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

Back in October 2025, Vieu was stopped while driving southbound on Interstate 93 in Bow after a state trooper saw him fail to move over as he passed another trooper who was stopped on the highway. The Chevrolet Impala he was driving had a Montana registration, and he provided a fake identification from North Wales, Pennsylvania, under the name “Ned Katuran,” according to court docs.

A check on the registration found the car was stolen. The trooper confirmed the car was stolen by double-checking the VIN via a Mobile Data Terminal, according to a report. The ID had a photo of a different person, according to a report.

Other troopers arrived to assist.

Vieu was asked if he had any weapons, and he said, “No,” but later, a Thompson Custom 1911 .45 caliber handgun was found in his waistband along with four magazines with 27 rounds in them, state police said. A trooper also saw a glass pipe with meth residue inside the car.

Officials in Montana asked state police dispatch if the driver was named Vieu. When asked by the trooper, he denied it, according to a report. Later, though, Vieu admitted to his real name.

Vieu also had a no-bail warrant from Vermont on a probation violation, according to dispatch, and he was arrested. The car was towed to Concord and impounded for further investigation. Vieu was read his Miranda rights, and he admitted to buying the gun in Montana, a report stated.

After a search warrant was applied for and granted, a fake license, two small baggies of meth, 107 rounds of .4 caliber bullets, 45 .45 caliber bullets, a long-bladed knife, and an ax-like knife were found inside the car, state police said. Vieu also said he was trying to leave New Hampshire after spending time with a family member in the Lakes Region because someone was following him, the report stated.

Vieu refused bail and was detained at the Merrimack County Jail.

During the case, O’Connell unsuccessfully sought to have evidence suppressed, including claims his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights were violated by state police in March.

She stated the trooper discovered Vieu’s real name while he was talking to himself in the back of the cruiser, saying he could not “be booked under his real name.” When asked what his real name was, he said the trooper already had it. When asked again whether it was Michael, he said, “Yes,” which led to the discovery of the other charges and the active Vermont warrant.

The initial search, O’Connell said, which led to the discovery of the gun in the waistband, was “unlawful” due to there being no warrant for the search.

The violation of the Fifth Amendment was due to the trooper questioning Vieu in the back of the cruiser without first Mirandizing him.

Judge Martin Honigberg, however, denied the motions in a 10-page brief, citing prior case law as well as a search warrant that led to the discovery of more items than were found during the initial pat-down or questioning of Vieu in the cruiser.

Initially, O’Connell proposed Vieu receive a 10- to 20-year sentence on the armed career criminal charge, while Speicher wanted a 15- to 30-year sentence. Ten years is the mandatory minimum on armed career criminal charges in New Hampshire. Both agreed to three-and-a-half to seven years on the meth charge, suspended for five years. He also had 187 days of pretrial confinement credit. Other charges, including felon in possession, receiving stolen property ($1,501 or more), disobeying an officer, manufacturing and possessing a false government ID, and a duty when approaching a highway emergency violation, were dropped.

Vieu, according to Speicher, had a lengthy criminal history, having been convicted repeatedly in Massachusetts.

In February 1983, he was convicted in Hampden County Superior Court of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and burglary. In June 1986, in Hampden County Superior Court, Vieu was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He was also convicted in Franklin County Superior Court in January 2009 on aggravated assault and battery, causing serious bodily injury, as well as assault to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon charge.

Vieu was also convicted of robbery and theft after an incident in Lebanon in 2000, according to court records.

But Honigberg said 10 years, with all the prior convictions, was not enough time and, after a short recess, added two and a half years to the sentence.

“I’m in between the two of you,” he said. “The mandatory minimum is not sufficient… given the defendant’s prior record.”

Honigberg called Vieu’s lack of time in prison during the past 25 years “pretty remarkable.” He said he believed everyone, even someone with Vieu’s criminal history, could be rehabilitated, and told him to take advantage of the educational programs offered to reduce the sentence slightly. Honigberg said it was worth his time to try to change even at the age of 60.

“I know you’re sorry to be in this situation, and it’s a shame things have gotten to the point that they are,” Honigberg said. “You’ve taken responsibility for your actions, and it’s important that you take the time now that you have available to you to make the full use of your time to the best of your abilities so that you are at a better place at the end of your sentence than you are today.”

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