Homeless Felon Accused Of Pulling Knife On Concord City Councilor

CONCORD, NH — A homeless sex offender, out on probation, was arrested last month after being accused of stealing change from a car owned by a Concord city councilor — and then threatening the councilor with a knife when he was told to stop burglarizing the vehicle.

Around 5:30 p.m. on June 18, officers were sent to the area of Storrs Street and Hills Avenue for a report of a man threatening another man with a knife. When the reporting officer headed to the area, he saw a man who matched the description of the suspect walking on North Main Street near Pleasant Street Extension. The officer immediately recognized him to be Michael P. Wing, 58, a man who had "a long history with the Concord PD," an affidavit stated.

The officer spoke with Wing, calling him "cooperative," but he denied being involved in any kind of confrontation, the report said. When asked if he was in possession of a knife, Wing said he was, and the officer reached into his pocket to take possession of a knife with a black and orange handle, the affidavit said.

"I asked Wing what he was doing in the area," the officer stated. "Wing stated that he was getting change from his car … a small car on Hills Avenue."

Later, after some back and forth, Wing admitted that it was not his car, that he stole the change because he "needed money for food," and gestured to change in his pocket. The officer removed the change — 80 cents, three quarters and a nickel, and asked again about the confrontation, the report said.

"Wing stated that while he was in the car getting the change, a man came up and attacked him," the officer stated. "Wing stated the man told him to get on the ground (and) he ran away. Wing stated that during the confrontation, he did not pull a knife out."

The officer said Wing "did not appear to be concerned or in fear" and wrote a statement.

Dispatch told the officer that video from the area caught both Wing and the reporting party, Fred Keach, an at-large Concord city councilor and former police officer, in the area at the same time.

The reporting officer eyed the video at police headquarters and said Wing could be seen "jogging away from the area" and Keach could be seen "walking after Wing in a non-threatening posture."

The officer then went to speak to Keach who said he was at home on Hills Avenue, saw a man inside his car, and went out to speak with him.

"Keach stated that as he confronted Wing, telling him to get out of his car, Wing pulled a pocket knife out and pointed it at Keach, saying to the effect, 'get away from me or I'll cut you,'" the affidavit stated.

Keach lost sight of Wing after he walked into the Storrs Street Parking Garage. He described the suspect "in detail," matching what Wing was wearing, and wrote a statement.

Officers also requested Keach to do a "show up" to view the suspect, which he agreed to do, and was driven by Wing. From about 20 feet away, Keach said he was absolutely certain the suspect was the man police drove him to see.

Wing, a felon who was out on probation, was arrested on felony criminal threatening with a deadly weapon, convicted felons (felon in possession of a dangerous weapon), receiving stolen property, a felony, due to two prior convictions, charges and a misdemeanor loitering or prowling charge. He was held without bail.

Keach, in an interview Friday, confirmed the incident and said he spoke about it at a recent Concord city council meeting.

"While I do not wish to go into the details of the incident, as I wish to preserve the integrity of the case going forward, I do want to share this as a perfect example as why we need our police and to defund them would be a mistake," Keach said later in an email. "Oversight, reflection, reform and change in the way we police is always a welcome process and I encourage that goal. But there will, unfortunately, always be times when citizens require an immediate and swift response to situations when their safety is threatened. I was fortunate to have a good outcome and a tremendously positive response by our police department."

Wing is a felon and sex offender due to being convicted in October 1984 in Middlesex County Superior Court in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on two counts of rape a child under 13 and under 16.

Wing, according to the affidavit and reports online, has been arrested and convicted close to two dozen times since the mid-1980s.

Wing was convicted on a felony receiving stolen property charge in Merrimack County Superior Court in April 2019 and a misdemeanor in Manchester District Court in April 2014. He was also convicted on a felony burglary charge in Hillsborough County Superior Court North in July 2015.

Previous arrests including stalking and breach of bail charges in Concord in October 2011 after an incident on Fisherville Road; indecent exposure in April 2015 in Merrimack after being accused of urinating at a gas station in front of children; a theft by unauthorized taking charge after being accused of stealing a person's wallet on Dec. 26, 2019, on Storrs Street; a theft incident at Sal's Pizza on Storrs Street on Jan. 9; indecent exposure/gross lewdness charges after an incident at the Storrs Street Parking Garage on Storrs Street April 18, and an incident at the Durgin Block Garage on School Street on May 12; felony theft and loitering or prowling charges after an incident at a North Main Street office building May 16; and a loitering or prowling charge on May 20.

Other charges in various jurisdictions include theft, stolen property, shoplifting, burglary, and credit card fraud charges.

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

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