Man Arrested On Arson Charge 9 Months After South End Fire In Concord

CONCORD, NH — A former Penacook resident was arrested last month on a felony arson charge accused of setting fire to an apartment building on South Street that led to people getting injured and tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

Around 6:15 p.m. on Sept. 23, 2021, Concord fire and rescue teams as well as police were called to 29 South St. for a report of a fire.

Firefighters from Concord and surrounding communities battle the blaze as flames shot up from the second and the floors of the multi-family. A second alarm was struck bringing in more firefighters as well as mutual aid to cover the city while Concord police blocked off the streets around the building.

Two tenants, a married couple staying in the apartment, were injured during the fire and taken to Concord Hospital.

Around 7:30 p.m. that evening, detectives were called in to start investigating the fire which led to an accusation against Joseph Boucher, 34, of Washington Street in Penacook, now of Littleton, had set the fire, an affidavit said.

A sergeant and officer were off with Boucher in the rear parking lot of the Best Western Hotel on Hall Street, the report said. The officers wanted detectives to take over interviewing Boucher because “he was becoming agitated with the patrol units talking to him,” the affidavit said. Boucher became a suspect after he was seen at the apartment building and “was in a hurry to leave the building” when the fire alarm went off, the report stated.

The detectives went to speak with Boucher and a woman, along with the officers, who had taken his clothes as “evidence due to exigency,” the report said. Boucher, however, refused to talk to detectives and said he wanted a lawyer, the detective wrote.

The woman, however, agreed to speak with detectives. She had known Boucher for about four years and accused him of being a methamphetamine user. She told detectives she did not know if he was using at that moment but he “did not appear to be himself.” While “aware” and a bit “hyper,” he seemed “off,” the report said she said.

Detectives asked her to go through their day and she did, noting Boucher’s parole officer had called to let her know he had an active warrant against Boucher, the report said. When Boucher heard this, he said he was not calling the parole officer, and “that he was going to go out with a bang,” the affidavit said. She took the comment to mean Boucher wanted to hurt himself, the detective wrote. The woman said Boucher then left and she had not seen him all day until that moment, the report stated.

The woman also told detectives she received a call from one of the tenants she knew at the South Street building who accused Boucher of setting the fire. She went over to the apartment building, did not see Boucher there, and then returned to the hotel, the report stated.

The detective asked if Boucher carried around a butane lighter and she said he did, an affidavit said. When asked if he had a backpack with him, she said he did not, the report said. She stated all of Boucher’s stuff was on South Street to be put in storage because he was planning on going to rehab, the detective wrote.

Detectives then spoke to one of the tenants who was not home at the time but received a call from one of the injured tenants who accused Boucher of breaking into the apartment and setting it on fire. The tenant was the same tenant that called Boucher’s girlfriend, according to the affidavit.

The tenant said he knew Boucher for about a decade. Three days before, Boucher, who was inconsistently couch surfing at the apartment, was asked to leave because he was “becoming physical” and “would carry a knife,” and the other tenant “was getting uncomfortable having Joseph around,” the report said.

The tenant said he saw him earlier in the morning and “everything was fine,” and then, he came home to his house being on fire.

The tenant said the injured tenant accused Boucher of breaking into the apartment via a window and getting into a physical altercation with his wife. The injured tenant claimed Boucher was “manic, disheveled, and asking for more drugs,” the report said. After breaking up the fight, Boucher left the room, went to the other tenant’s room, and started the fire in the area of a closet, the affidavit said.

To his knowledge, the tenant told detectives, there were no drugs in the house that morning but added there had been in the past, noting, “users help each other out.” The tenant accused Boucher of using “high amounts of methamphetamine” so much “he would be hallucinating a lot.”

The tenant also told detectives there were gas cans on the porch but they should have been empty. He said Boucher had borrowed them in the past to get gasoline for a motorcycle, the report said.

Police requested a search warrant for the apartment and started canvassing the area for video surveillance footage.

A neighbor, according to the report, caught footage of a man matching Boucher’s description and a prior booking photo standing in the parking lot of the apartment building and then, walking away around 7:30 a.m. About 20 minutes later, Boucher was seen in the footage returning, the detective wrote.

At 6:05 p.m., the same security footage found Boucher running away from the apartment building, the report said. Five minutes later, the building was engulfed in flames.

A homeowner on Monroe Street also provided footage of Boucher walking from the area at around 6:10 p.m., the detective wrote.

A detective was also able to obtain security footage from a Hall Street business that caught Boucher in the area after 6:30 p.m.

On Sept. 30, 2021, a detective spoke with the two injured tenants who were staying at a hotel in Loudon at the time.

The man said he went out to get some cigarettes and returned later. While hanging out, he heard the smoke detector had activated and went to check on his wife. While doing so, he accused Boucher of fleeing the area through the rear door of the building. He asked Boucher what he had done, and after doing so, turned and saw smoke coming from another tenant’s bedroom, the report said.

The injured woman got a fire extinguisher and attempted to put it out but was too late — the fire had already spread, with thick, black smoke everywhere. They grabbed a cat and left the apartment.

“(The tenant) said he was not sure what Joseph used (as an accelerant),” the report said, “but the fire was moving and it was no joke.”

He also accused Boucher of wearing a face covering at the time.

The injured woman traced back her day and said around 11 a.m. she heard yelling in the apartment and went to find out what was going on. She accused Boucher of having a knife and threatening other tenants. Everyone then left the apartment, she said, including Boucher.

In the late afternoon, maybe around 5:45 p.m., she heard the fire alarms going off, left her room, and saw smoke everywhere, she said. She went out to investigate and saw Boucher, looking different than normal, with his hair slicked back, the report said. He then took a swing at her and ran into the kitchen, an affidavit said. At that point, her husband came out and began yelling at Boucher, asking him what he had done, and then, he ran away, the report said.

While trying to get out of the apartment building, she had difficulty breathing and was taken to Concord Hospital.

A warrant for Boucher’s arrest was issued on June 8. He was charged on June 18. Boucher was arraigned on June 20 in Merrimack County Superior Court and held on preventive detention. New counsel was appointed for him on June 28.

Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel.