Concord Park Homeless Camp Shooting ‘Person Of Interest’ Held On Preventative Detention

CONCORD, NH — A district court judge held a homeless felon accused of possessing a gun and drugs, who was also a “person of interest” in a park shooting last week, on preventative detention Wednesday.

Concord District Court Judge Kristin Spath agreed with a prosecutor that Vincent Mott, 33, a homeless man now located in Concord, should be held. He was arrested on Monday in Bicentennial Square by Central New Hampshire Special Operations Unit, the city’s SWAT team, after exiting an apartment building on Odd Fellows Drive and hopping into a cab. Mott became a “person of interest,” according to Concord police, after a shooting that occurred in Healy Memorial Park last week.

During the Bicentennial Square arrest, he was accused of possessing a .38 Ruger handgun and two baggies of drugs — one of which he attempted to dispose of while he was in custody, according to an affidavit. Mott was wanted on several warrants for nonappearance in court on drug sale, possession, strangulation, domestic violence, stolen property, loitering and prowling, and other charges.

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

Mott did not appear at an arraignment on Tuesday due to not feeling well.

During the arraignment Wednesday, by video from the Merrimack County Jail, he appeared to be nodding off in his chair.

Also Read

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• Concord Police Say Healy Park Incident Was A Shooting: Follow-Up
• Man Attacked At Homeless Camp In Concord’s Healy Memorial Park
• Concord Man, Also A Boston Fugitive, Faces Assault Charges in Massachusetts, New Hampshire

Spath read the active warrants as well as the new charges against Mott but said he could enter no plea on the felonies. They will be boundover, at some point, to superior court. She then asked for comments about whether he should be bailed.

Michaela O’Rourke, the city prosecutor, said Mott should be held due to missing prior court dates on a wide array of charges. She said the court had already “generously” allowed him to be released on cash bail, and he was supposed to seek drug treatment but “failed to do so” and, instead, bought more drugs and a gun. O’Rourke also accused him of being a danger to the community due to possessing the handgun even though he was a felon. She added Mott was “a person of interest in a shooting that occurred this week.”

Hannah Ackerman, an attorney for the defense, objected to O’Rourke mentioning the Healy Park incident.

“I have no information, whatsoever, from the state, about … I don’t know if it’s being presented as an allegation … but I would say the court shouldn’t consider something hasn’t been noticed and that we haven’t received any information about,” she said.

O’Rourke countered they were not required to give her anything about the shooting since it was an open investigation — but the court could consider the allegation due to public safety concerns and relevance. Spath agreed and she would allow the mention of him being a person of interest in the shooting.

“The rebuttable presumption is he will not reasonably appear,” O’Rourke said, pointing to the other active charges.

The city prosecutor added Mott was still wanted in Massachusetts after being accused of running over his girlfriend with a vehicle and then fleeing the jurisdiction “to come here to New Hampshire.” O’Rourke said Mott has other convictions in Arizona, California, and Nevada, although she did not mention the offense levels. She said the Massachusetts warrant was extraditable after the New Hampshire charges were resolved. Mott was convicted of a felony in Nevada in 2017, according to Concord police.

“Given that his crime spree seems to escalate every time this court lets him out, there is a significant concern for public safety,” O’Rourke said.

Ackerman did not object to the preventative detention request but did ask that it turn to personal recognizance if he enters residential substance abuse treatment and is enrolled in pretrial services. If he leaves treatment for any reason, she said, it could revert to preventative detention. Ackerman said prior notes from another lawyer indicated Mott put up cash bail and his bail was converted to personal recognizance, but he did not receive treatment. She also suggested he only be released to a treatment bed.

Mott, she said, had substance abuse issues his entire life, and his criminal activity was “very closely” connected to drug usage. If he could attain treatment and enter recovery, she assured the court he would not be a danger to the community and would not be a flight risk.

Spath ordered Mott held but did not tie it to treatment. A probable cause hearing was booked for Jan. 28.

“It’s unlikely he will abide by the court’s order,” she said. “At a later date … he can certainly file for a request for a review of bail.”

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