Homeless Felon, Formerly Of Manchester, Charged With Theft; Concord Officer Says Criminal History ‘126 Pages’

CONCORD, NH — A homeless felon, previously from Manchester but now located in Concord, with a lengthy criminal history, was arrested last month on a bench warrant and felony theft charge after an incident in the North End.

Around 1:45 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2025, police were sent to Penacook Street for a report of a past-tense theft involving a trail camera, placed on city property, near the Boys & Girls Club on Bradley Street. The caller, a man in his mid-20s, said he installed the camera near a city pumping station and had photos of the suspect involved in the theft on his phone. The owner of the camera also took pictures of boot prints and the tree the camera was placed on and emailed them to the officer.

The camera was a Spypoint Flex-M trail camera valued at around $100. The caller did not say why they had installed the camera in the area, according to the report.

The officer went to the camera location, surveyed the scene, and viewed the photos emailed by the caller. They noted footprints in the snow but no other evidence at the scene. The reporting officer, however, did not recognize the suspect.

On Jan. 7, the missing camera was found at the Concord Public Library on Green Street. A sergeant also identified the suspect as Paul Cram, 56, a homeless man now located in Concord.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department and Concord District Cour and does not indicate a conviction. This linkexplains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.

According to an affidavit, two days earlier, another officer was sent to the library in response to a report of an unwanted guest.

While there, the officer was told by library staff that a bag had been abandoned in the library. Inside the bag was the camera, with the initial complainant’s name on a label on its side, a report said. The officer recognized the camera from the previous email about the December theft, the report stated. The officer requested surveillance footage from the library and was able to get a description of the man who was carrying the bag into the library, but they were unable to see the man’s face, the report said.

The officer did, however, recognize a second man who was with the suspect at the library. The second man was questioned on Jan. 6 after an unwanted-guest call at the Capital Plaza. When asked about the other person with him at the library the day before, the man ID’d the suspect as “Paul.” The sergeant, later, identified the suspect as Cram, the report stated.

On Jan. 10, Cram was at the Concord Bus Depot on Stickney Avenue, and another officer radioed the reporting officer to the scene to speak with him.

Cram was questioned about the trail camera theft and said he did not think anyone owned it, so he took it, according to an affidavit. He then claimed to have put it into the bag and given it to the man who ID’d him so it could be returned to the owner, the officer wrote.

The reporting officer ran a criminal search on Cram and noted convictions for receiving stolen property in Belknap County Superior Court and Franklin District Court in August 2011.

“It should be noted,” the officer wrote, “that Cram’s criminal record was 126 pages with several additional theft charges, including unauthorized use of a propelled vehicle-rented property.”

A request was made to the Office of the Forensic Examiner on Feb. 12 to evaluate Cram's competency to stand trial, but there was a long waitlist, according to a filing.

Cram is due back in Concord District Court on May 21 for a case status hearing.

According to superior court records, Cram’s criminal history dates back to the 1990s. Between 1993 and 2008, he was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving under the influence, habitual offender, taking without the owner’s consent, stolen property, reckless operation, disobeying an officer, resisting arrest, unauthorized use, driving infractions, and assault.

Between 2011 and 2023, Cram was arrested, all over the state of New Hampshire, on felony theft, unauthorized use, felony drug possession, felony reckless conduct-deadly weapon, aggravated driving while intoxicated, felony habitual offender, felony receiving stolen property, disobeying an officer, criminal mischief, felony acts prohibited, felony meth possession, simple assault, conduct after an accident, and felon in possession of a dangerous weapon charges, but often escaped being held accountable due to competency evaluations, according to court filings.

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