NH’s Most Wanted: A Felon, On The Lam For 17 Months, Caught By U.S. Marshals: Follow-Up

CONCORD, NH — The U.S. Marshals Service-New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force, along with Newport police and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, were able to find and arrest a fugitive after 17 months of him eluding capture.

Aaron Butler, 34, was wanted on unlawful sale of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine, possession of a firearm, and armed career criminal warrants issued in November 2022. He was featured as a fugitive of the week, with an “armed and dangerous” warning, a month later. Butler, at the time, was on federal supervised release after being convicted of drug trafficking in 2019. Andrew Grillo of the U.S. Marshal’s Service said the new crimes he was accused of led to a violation of release conditions accusation.

“Although Butler will have to answer for his failures to comply with federal supervision,” he said, “his legal troubles may not end there, as a Newport police investigation into the state charges is ongoing.”

Grillo said Butler was captured after “key intelligence” was gathered by Newport police and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department, reportedly finding him at a home about a mile from the Goshen town offices. Members of the task force, sheriff’s deputies, and police announced their presence at the house and knocked on the door. However, Butler was accused of attempting to flee from the rear of the home. After clearing the home, Newport detectives initiated a search warrant of the residence, Grillo said.

According to superior court records, Butler was convicted on second-degree assault and criminal threatening charges in October and December 2006 in Sullivan County. He was charged with conspiracy to sell and sale of controlled-narcotic drugs in April 2011 and pleaded guilty to both charges in January 2012. In Concord in February 2012, he was arrested on controlled drug and false report charges after an incident on Loudon Road in July 2011. Butler was living in Goshen at the time.

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