Shooting Of Suspect In Concord Park Justified, State Report Says

CONCORD, NH — An investigation of an officer-involved shooting in Concord's White Park on April 5 has been deemed justified by the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office.

The case involved an attempted burglary incident at the Merrimack Lodge Skate House at White Park on April 4 that evolved into an altercation on the park's baseball field — with the burglary suspect being accused of waving a loaded handgun at police and homes in the area.

According to the report, around 11:20 p.m., Concord police were sent to an alarm activation at the lodge where officers found a smashed window and apparent attempted burglary. Dispatch later viewed security footage and saw a man inside of the skate house.

Not long after the alarm activation, other officers saw a man in the baseball field near the park's parking lot off White Street. The officers went to investigate and found that the man, Dylan J. Stahley, 22, a known felon who previously lived in Concord, "matched the physical appearance and clothing of the Skate House burglary suspect," according to Jeffery Strelzin, an associate attorney general.

Another person in the park accused Stahley of being in possession of a handgun and additional officers were called in along with the New Hampshire State Police assisting.

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"As the officers arrived and set up a perimeter around the baseball field, Mr. Stahley moved around in the center of the field with a drink container in one hand and a handgun in the other," Strelzin said. "Officers attempted to defuse the situation by repeatedly ordering Mr. Stahley to drop the handgun. He did not comply with those repeated orders. Instead, Mr. Stahley continued to move around the field, pointing his handgun in all directions including at himself, at multiple police officers, and in the direction of homes located outside White Park."

Investigators accused Stahley of "pointing his handgun at officers positioned on White Street, including New Hampshire State Trooper Michael Petrillo," at about 12:15 a.m. on April 5.

"Trooper Petrillo then fired one shot at Mr. Stahley from his police-issued rifle," Strelzin said. "Mr. Stahley was hit in the left upper arm by the gunfire and dropped to the ground."

Strelzin said "a loaded handgun was recovered" next to Stahley while he was being medically treated by EMTs. Concord fire and rescue teams then took him to Concord Hospital. No one else was injured during the incident and no other officers fired their weapons, according to the report.

Strelzin said Petrillo shooting Stahley "constitutes the use of deadly force under the law" — an act was deemed "legally justified" after the Attorney General’s Office and the New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit conducted its investigations.

Stahley was arrested and charged with burglary, reckless conduct, felon in possession of a dangerous weapons, all felonies. Since the charges are pending, the attorney general's office is not releasing its full report since the release "will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the matter," Strelzin said, citing New Hampshire Rules of Professional Conduct. The report will be released after the court proceedings have concluded, he added.

Stahley has a number of prior arrests, according to media reports and posts on Patch.

In early October 2017, he was arrested in Concord on a prowling charge after an incident near Penuche's in Bicentennial Square. A week later, he was arrested on a criminal trespass charge after an incident on Liberty Street near White Park.

In September 2018, he was arrested by Concord police after a girl accused him of rape during a party in August 2017 in the Concord quarries. At the time, he was living in Hillsborough. According to the Concord Monitor, he pleaded guilty in 2019 to an assault charge with a 90-day sentence as part of a plea deal.

In September 2019, he was arrested in Concord on a bench warrant near the Shell gas station on Loudon Road.

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