Teardrop Tattooed Teen Accused of Assaulting Children in Downtown Concord

CONCORD, NH — A New Hampshire teenager is in more hot water after allegedly assaulting a teenager and a pre-teen in June in Downtown Concord, according to a police report and court affidavit. Steven M. Rowell, 19, a homeless man now located in Concord, was arrested on June 9, 2016, on two counts of simple assault, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child/incompetent, and default or breach of bail conditions.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department and Concord District Court. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

According to a court affidavit, a detective received a message from a Concord District School vice principal about an alleged incident where two students were assaulted on South Main Street on June 5. The juvenile boys – one 12, another 13 – reported to school officials and later, the detective, that they were walking on South Main Street when they were approached by man they had seen before near the South Main Street Mobil. The man offered them cigarettes but the boys said they refused them. The man, however, allegedly “forced them to smoke” and “put them in a chokehold” during the encounter.

“They stated that he said that he had a knife and would stab them if they did not smoke,” according to the report. “The man continued to McDonald’s with the juveniles, not allowing them to walk away from him. They told me that the male was acting strangely, kicking signs, and yelling at cars as they passed them.”

When the man went into McDonald’s to use the restroom, they fled the area, according to the report.

The described the man as white, about 18 or 19, with teardrop tattoos under his eye and the number “420” tattooed on his knuckles.

The detective reviewed the security footage at McDonald’s, reporting that what he saw matched with the juveniles told him, and then showed stills to other police staffers who immediately stated it was Rowell, according to documents. The detective eyed Rowell’s background and found he was out on bail after being arrested and held on arson charges from earlier this year, for allegedly setting the state transportation building and brush near the Holiday Inn on North Main Street on fire. The bail conditions required him to stay with family in Danbury and not come to Concord unless accompanied by an adult, the detective reported. A hearing was slated for late June to see if he was “competent to stand trial” on the arson charges, according to the detective.

A warrant was issued for his arrest on June 8.

The next day, at just before 2 p.m., an officer on foot patrol near the Concord Public Library was flagged down by a librarian who let him know that officers had been previously looking for Rowell the day before (he wasn't there) but was now in the building. A few minutes later, Rowell allegedly walked out of the building and was stopped by the officer. After a confirmation of his identity and the warrant, he was arrested and held without bail.

According to online reports, Rowell has been arrested numerous times in the last two years. Before the arson allegations, his charges included unlawful possession of alcohol and alleged intoxication, criminal trespass, breach of bail, and illegally having cigarettes at 17, while entering a local store with a mask on. After the arson incident, he was charged with felony burglary, two counts of false public alarm and attempted false public alarm, and criminal trespass, at the Friendly Kitchen, as well as resisting arrest or detention, unlawful possession of alcohol, driving upon a sidewalk, and three counts default or breach of bail conditions.