New London Woman, Found Guilty On 3rd DUI Charge On I-89 In Concord, Appeals Verdict

CONCORD, NH — A woman from New London, arrested in Concord in August 2024 on a third drunken driving charge and found guilty in February, is appealing her third conviction in Merrimack County Superior Court.

Jessica Fitzgerald, 41, of Cottage Lane in New London, was arrested at 1:41 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2024, on driving under the influence-third offense, DUI-second offense, and DUI charges, as well as an open container violation.

According to state police, she was pulled over near Mile Marker 2.2 on Interstate 89 north. The trooper accused her of driving while intoxicated and possessing “a partial White Claw with the seal broken” in the passenger area of her vehicle. Twice before, according to a complaint, Fitzgerald was convicted in Newport District Court in May 2017 for aggravated driving under the influence and in February 2018 for DUI.

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the New Hampshire State Police, Concord District Court, and Merrimack County Superior Court and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the removal request process for New Hampshire Patch police reports.

Fitzgerald was arraigned in Concord District Court on Sept. 13, 2024, and entered a not guilty plea. In October 2024, she requested a lawyer and issued a request to preserve a blood test-urinalysis sample, and her attorney filed a motion to continue in mid-December 2024.

A trial was held on Feb. 25, and she was found guilty of DUI-third offense. She was fined $930, given a 180-day jail sentence with 150 days suspended for two years. Fitzgerald was also referred to an impaired driver care management program and her license was also revoked for five years. After the sentence is served, she is required to have an alcohol interlock device on her vehicle for two years.

The DUI and DUI-second offense charges were dismissed and she was found not guilty of the open container violation.

Fitzgerald, however, filed an appeal of the conviction with the Merrimack County Superior Court on March 5, seeking to reverse the decision. On March 13, her attorney requested copies of all body-worn camera recordings of the incident. Her attorney also requested a sound recording of the trial on April 8.

Fitzgerald has a dispositional conference hearing on April 30.

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