Homeless Man Racks Up Concord Robbery Charges After Incidents At Market Basket, Target

CONCORD, NH — A homeless man with a lengthy criminal history dating back more than 15 years is in more trouble after being accused of shoplifting food at Market Basket and punching an employee in an attempt to get away — as well as thefts at other stores.

Around 11:15 a.m. on Feb. 13, police were sent to the Market Basket at 108 Fort Eddy Road for a report of a man fighting with employees. When they arrived, they spoke with an employee who stated they were watching surveillance video and noticed a tall white man in dark clothes who placed an iced coffee and three sandwiches in a backpack, an affidavit said. The employee accused the man, later identified as Ashton Everrett Garland, 34, a homeless man now located in Concord, of walking past all points of sale without paying for the items and leaving the store.

“(The employee) approached Ashton and told him he was security and needed the items back,” the officer wrote. “Ashton yelled ‘f--- you’ and attempted to run away.”

The employee attempted to detain him and pulled at the backpack, the report said. After getting Garland to the ground, others assisted the employee. Garland, however, was accused of punching the employee in the right shoulder and the right side of his head. Garland was also accused of twisting the employee’s fingers in an attempt to break them.

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

“While being held down by (the employee),” the officer wrote, “Ashton started yelling at (the employee), ‘I am going to kill you’ and ‘I am going to f--- you up.’”

Garland’s backpack ripped during the incident and the sandwiches and iced coffee fell to the ground. The officer accused Garland of screaming more, saying, “I was just hungry. He did not have to stop me.”

The merchandise was valued at $12.07.

Garland was charged with felony robbery, criminal threatening, theft by unauthorized taking-less than $1,000, willful concealment, and simple assault charges. He was held on preventative detention. Garland was also arraigned on theft by unauthorized taking-less than $1,000 and willful concealment charges based on an incident in November 2024 at the Hannaford supermarket on Fort Eddy Road.

His attorney filed a request to amend his bail to allow him to be released on personal recognizance after agreeing to be placed into a residential or partial hospitalization program level substance use treatment program on Feb. 25. A bail hearing was held on Feb. 27, and a dangerousness evaluation was requested on March 27. A motion to continue was requested by the Concord city prosecutor’s office and sealed pursuant to a court order from December 2023. It was granted on April 4.

On April 22, a dangerousness hearing was held, and the court ordered him to be evaluated by a forensic examiner within 45 days. More hearings were held and a new case status hearing was booked for July 24.

In between, Garland was arrested on more charges.

Around 2:46 p.m. on May 18, Garland was charged with robbery, theft by unauthorized taking-less than $1,000, willful concealment, and simple assault after an incident or investigation at Target at 80 D’Amante Drive based on an incident on April 26, meaning, at some point in between all of the hearings on the Market Basket case, although the documents do not reveal this, Garland was released. He was also charged with criminal trespass, based on an incident on April 26.

Garland has escaped several of his superior court charges because he was deemed incompetent to stand trial and found unrestorable. The charges include drug possession, theft, and assault by a prison-assault by an inmate.

Garland is due back in Concord District Court for a competency hearing on July 24 and arraignment on July 31. During the competency hearing, according to a court filing, the court will address all pending issues regarding “competency, restorability, and dangerousness in all the defendant’s cases.”

According to court records, Garland has been arrested or cited nearly 40 times since 2008 on various criminal and possession charges. Those charges include second-degree assault, domestic violence, simple assault, theft, drug possession (fentanyl, marijuana, and meth), trespass, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, resisting arrest, stolen property, and warrants.

Back in April 2015, Garland was also involved in a kidnapping and assault with a dangerous weapon case in Altus, Oklahoma, according to the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

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