Crime & Safety
Armed Robber, Fugitive Found Unconscious In Bushes In Keene: Follow-Up
Benjamin Justin Ecklund was wanted on a parole violation and considered armed and dangerous — but Keene cops found him passed out last week.
CONCORD, NH — Another New Hampshire Department of Corrections fugitive of the week has been found and is behind bars.
Benjamin Justin Ecklund, 42, was featured in December 2023 after being wanted on a parole violation connected to an armed robbery conviction. It was unknown, at the time, where he might be.
On Sunday, however, he was found by Keene police “unconscious in some bushes,” the department said. Ecklund was arrested without incident and is housed in the Cheshire County Jail.
Find out what's happening in Concordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“The New Hampshire Department of Corrections thanks the Keene Police Department for their assistance with this case,” the department said.
As previously reported, according to press reports and superior court records, Ecklund’s criminal history dates to 2009.
Find out what's happening in Concordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In June 2009, he was charged with criminal threatening and driving without giving proof, which he pleaded guilty to later, in Sullivan County. The threat charge was nolle prossed.
In 2013, he was one of four people arrested on a home invasion charge in Claremont. Ecklund was accused of being the leader of the group that robbed a man in his mid-80s at gunpoint. According to press reports, the robbers got away with $77 and two winning lottery tickets valued at $25.
A few years ago, when he was living in Weare, he was accused of being involved in a drunken driving high-speed chase on Interstate 91 in Vermont. The chase reportedly went on for around 25 miles. He was also arrested in 2020 in Bow on a revocation charge.
Ecklund was arrested on a felony acts prohibited charge in Manchester in September 2021 that was reduced later to a controlled drug: obtain-by fake drug charge. He pleaded guilty to the charge in February 2022, receiving a three-month sentence, suspended for three years, and a $434 fine.
Do you have a news tip? Please email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. Follow the NH politics Twitter account @NHPatchPolitics for all our campaign coverage.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
