Homeless Concord Felon Arrested On Attempted Robbery, Threat Charges

CONCORD, NH — A homeless felon with robbery convictions out of the Queen City from last year was arrested on attempted robbery and other charges after an incident at Marshalls in Concord in October.

Around 7 p.m. on Oct. 25, police were sent to the store on Storrs Street for a report of a robbery. Dispatch told officers a man in the store approached the register and demanded money.

“Open the f------ register,” the suspect reportedly said.

When the caller told the man she needed a manager first, “he got angry and threw stuff and walked out of the store on foot,” an affidavit stated. The man was described as white, about 6 feet tall, wearing a white T-shirt, and beige- or cream-colored pants.

The officer spoke to the clerk, who said she was “watching” the suspect since he had been “in the store all day.” When the man finally approached the register, he placed some items on the counter, and the clerk began to chat with him. After ringing up a wine bottle, she accused him of ordering her to open the register. The clerk looked at the man and said, “Excuse me?,” the report stated. The man countered, “If you don’t, I will hurt you,” the report said. At this point, another employee, a woman, was in the area, and the suspect turned to her and was accused of saying, “Open the f------ register, or I’ll hurt her.”

The clerk said the man grabbed a bottle of Voyage Marche olives and threw them at her, missing her but striking the wall behind her, the report said. An affidavit said that the man threw a toy at the second employee and other items as he walked out of the store. The second employee and the store manager were also interviewed.

Officers began to search the area and found a man matching the suspect’s description near the clock tower on North Main Street near Eagle Square. He was identified as Justyn Shaw, 36, a homeless man now located in Concord. An officer accused him of admitting to attempting to rob the store earlier. Shaw was cuffed and taken to police headquarters.

Later, Shaw was read his Miranda rights and was questioned by a sergeant, a report said. During questioning, he was accused of admitting to the attempted robbery, throwing items at the clerks, and leaving a pair of socks in the men’s bathroom of Marshalls. The report said the reporting officer then went to the men’s room and found the socks.

In the report, the officer said they could not make out everything Shaw said. However, at one point, he said he was attempting to rob the store “for the money, and then I was gonna come back and grab my 9 mil extended clip and then go back and kill every one of them, including customers at Marshalls,” the affidavit said.

Shaw was charged with attempted robbery, a felony, criminal threatening, criminal mischief, and two attempted simple assault counts and taken to the county jail. He was arraigned in Merrimack County Superior Court on Oct. 26, and held on preventative detention. Shaw is back in court for a dispositional conference hearing on Dec. 21.

According to superior court records, Shaw was arrested in Manchester for robbery incidents in September 2021. The first involved armed robbery and robbery charges; the second involved an attempted criminal threat against a person with a deadly weapon and two armed robbery charges.

In August 2022, Shaw pleaded guilty to one armed robbery count and one robbery count. He received a 12-month sentence, stand committed, and a seven year sentence, two years mandatory minimum, all deferred for 10 years, with probation for two years. On March 27, his sentence on the robbery charge was amended, giving him credit for 564 days time served.

As part of the agreement, Shaw was ordered to stay away from Brother’s Express on Union Street, Unique Brows on South Willow Street, and 5 Below on South Willow Street, all in Manchester.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Shaw was held on preventative detention after his arraignment.

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