Manchester Man Arrested On Indecent Exposure, Drug, Other Charges

CONCORD, NH — A Manchester man is facing several felony charges after an incident on Clinton Street involving a stolen van, drugs, and indecent exposure in front of a child, according to police.

On Jan. 6, police were sent to Clinton Street near McKee Square for a report of a suspicious vehicle. Dispatch told police heading to the area that the 911 caller's child had reported a white van had pulled into the home's driveway, hit a fence, and then, the driver appeared to be pleasuring himself inside the van.

When the reporting officer arrived around 1 p.m., they ran the plate on the van and found it belonged to a shuttle service out of Manchester. While checking the plate, a man ran around from the corner of the house and stated, "He just ran off that way," pointing to Harvard Street, according to an affidavit.

Other officers headed to the area with one spotting the suspect and chasing him. The man ran through bushes of a home on Dartmouth Street and then, a yard on Noyes Street, an affidavit stated. The officer commanded the man to stop but he refused, the report said. A few minutes later though, Devin Gilbert, 28, of Manchester Street in Manchester, was taken into custody as the other officer investigated what happened.

According to the witness who directed police to the suspect, after receiving a call from his wife about the van, he headed home. The witness said he approached the van and "the man inside appeared to be buttoning his pants," the affidavit said.

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"When (the witness) told the man the police were on the way, the man took off through the woods in the direction of Harvard Street," the report said.

The witness reported about $500 worth of damage to a bulkhead door and planting pots due to the van crashing in the driveway. The van also drove into a fence but no damage was reported, according to the affidavit.

Two other witnesses were interviewed, gave a description of the man, and his actions both while driving the van and inside the van, according to an affidavit.

The reporting officer eyed the van and found scuff marks on a rear bumper and a bent license plate on the front bumper, the affidavit said.

The officer then contacted the Manchester shuttle company and an employee reported the van was stolen from the mall, the report said. The employee gave the officer and a sergeant verbal consent to search the van and when doing so, they reported finding personal lubricant, cigarettes, laxative, a rolled-up piece of paper with white residue, and a fluid substance on the driver's door inside handle.

A swab was taken of the fluid on the handle, the affidavit said.

Gilbert's cellphone was found in a backyard later, too.

During processing, an officer found a glass smoking device with white residue in Gilbert's chest pocket, the report stated.

"(The) officer informed me that he believes it to be a smoking device for meth, based on his training and experience," the report said.

Another officer claimed Gilbert admitted to him that he was smoking methamphetamine, the report said.

Gilbert was arrested and charged with indecent exposure-sex act, child under 16, receiving stolen property-$1,501+, and possession of controlled drug charges, all felonies, as well as loitering or prowling, conduct after an accident, and resisting arrest or detention charges. He was held without bail.

On Jan. 7, a driving under the influence charge was added to his docket and he was arraigned in Merrimack County Superior Court.

Gilbert is back in court for a dispositional conference on March 17.

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 removal request process for New Hampshire Patch police reports.

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