Teen Steals Handgun, Hides it in Concord Park: Cops

CONCORD, NH – A local man was arrested recently on a number of charges after he allegedly stole a necklace and a gun from the parent of a pot buddy and then stashed the gun in a local park.

Seth D. Hall, now 19, of Washington Street in Concord, was arrested at 4 p.m. on March 8, 2016, and charged with theft by unauthorized taking, receiving stolen property, falsifying physical evidence, and reckless conduct; place another in danger, all felonies. He was also charged with theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and changing marks on a firearm.

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.

A detective, on Feb. 24, was assigned to follow-up a theft investigation involving a stolen Ruger SR40, a 10 round magazine that was not in the gun at the time, and an $800 gold necklace on Maple Street reported two days before, according to a court affidavit.

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The owner of the items stated that his daughter had a male acquaintance at the house at the time – allegedly Hall – and he may have taken the necklace, which as on a kitchen table. The man stated that his daughter had arranged to get the necklace back, communicating with one of Hall’s friends that he was staying with. The detective noted that he was “familiar” with Hall and his group of friends he associates with, according to the report.

The daughter met with detectives later that day and she alleged that Hall “had come to her residence to go and pick up marijuana and then they smoked it,” according to the affidavit. She also reportedly told detectives that Hall had “apologized to her” via Facebook messenger for taking the necklace but allegedly denied taking the handgun. She reportedly showed the exchange on her phone as well as the mutual party.

Two days later, according to the report, detectives spoke with the mutual party and he reportedly confirmed that he facilitated getting the necklace back, allegedly from Hall, to the daughter. The mutual party reportedly met with Hall on Washington Street a few days after the theft and he was allegedly wearing the gold chain at the time. He then allegedly handed it to the mutual party, apologized, and then it was given back to the daughter, according to the affidavit.

“(The mutual party) said that he did not know if Seth took the firearm, but believed that he would have more information in regards to the firearm,” according to the affidavit. “(He) also said that Seth had Facebook messaged him that the police were looking for him and told (him) to delete the Facebook posts and not message him anymore.”

The mutual party stated he would reach out to Hall again about the firearm or where it might be.

On March 4, Hall met with police after reaching out to detectives about the case, according to the affidavit, and allegedly admitted to stealing the necklace from the kitchen table. He allegedly stated that he and the daughter went to Thorndike Street to score some weed and then smoked it. They then returned to the home because he forgot his wallet.

“Seth said that he took the necklace because, ‘I like gold,’ and (he) wanted to wear it,” according to the detective.

During the conversation, Hall allegedly admitted to past drug abuse – meth and heroin – but said he had been sober about four months but still smoked marijuana. Hall reportedly decided to return the necklace after receiving Facebook messages about it “so that a brawl would not break out.” He allegedly denied, however, taking the gun, and didn’t even know the man owned one, according to the affidavit.

On March 7, detectives received a tip from juvenile girl about the gun which included an “extremely detailed description/map” of where it was hidden in White Park, according to the report. Detectives examined the tip, went to the park, and found the loaded handgun under a log. The magazine had seven rounds inside.

“This firearm was hidden in an area, and manner, that only someone who had intimate knowledge of the location would be able to relay its location,” the detective wrote. “The location of the firearm, however, was within a public park that is frequented by a large number of people, including many children. The area where the firearm was hiding was an area that children and young adults do gravitate to.”

The juvenile reportedly told detectives that she met Hall on Facebook about three weeks before when he messaged her. They reportedly chatted over Facebook, Snapchat, and in-person, exchanging photos and videos, something the detective allegedly confirmed by viewing the interaction on Facebook. The juvenile reported that she met Hall on March 6, where they had met before, and he allegedly stated that he had a secret to share with her, and showed her the hidden gun, according to the affidavit. She also reportedly stated that he admitted to trying to “obliterate and scrape off the serial number” and other things he had allegedly tried to do to remove his fingerprints so he wouldn’t get caught, according to the affidavit.

“I could shoot everyone in the park right now if I wanted to,” he allegedly told the girl.

The detective noted that the partial serial number and make and model matched the stolen gun. He also noted that there was a milky, clear liquid in the plastic bag the gun was in as if someone had poured something into the bag.

An affidavit was filed on March 8, to arrest Hall and later that day, detectives went to Washington Street where he was crashing and arrested him on a warrant.

“Seth asked to know what he was charged with and I told him,” the detective wrote.

During an interview, Hall alleged admitted to stealing the gun and hiding it in the park as well as the necklace, according to the arrest report. He was held without bail and arraigned the next day.