Truck Theft Suspect Shot And Killed By NH State Police

HAMPTON, NH — A Seacoast man was shot and killed this afternoon by New Hampshire State Police at the New Hampshire State Liquor and Wine Outlet on I-95, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. Barry Jones, 36, of Portsmouth, pictured in this file photo from 2007, was killed by a single gunshot wound in Hampton at around 12:30 p.m. on June 13, 2017, after two state troopers encountered him in front of the store and discharged their weapons, according to Benjamin Agati, a senior assistant attorney general. Just before the shooting, according to the preliminary investigation, Jones – who was intoxicated – pointed a handgun at a neighbor and stole his pickup truck, according to Portsmouth Police.

The report alleged that Jones initially wanted the neighbor to drive him to Lawrence, MA, to buy drugs but later, stole the pickup himself.

“A few minutes after taking the vehicle, Mr. Jones crashed the vehicle along Grafton Drive in Portsmouth, causing damage to the vehicle’s front left tire,” Agati stated in a press release. “Mr. Jones then continued onto Interstate 95 traveling in a southerly direction.”

Portsmouth Police issued a BOLO – "be on the lookout" – report was made for the vehicle, a silver 2002 Ford Ranger. A state trooper spotted it near the store in Hampton, approached Jones in front of the store, and “one or two” of the troopers fired upon him, according to a press alert.

Jones was treated at the scene for at least one gunshot wound and was transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital. He was pronounced dead earlier this afternoon, Agati noted. His identity was released since his next of kin was notified and an autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow at the Chief Medical Examiner’s office in Concord.

“The exact circumstances surrounding the officer(s) discharge of his weapon remains actively under investigation,” Agati stated. “Per protocol the names of the officers involved in this incident are being withheld pending each officer’s formal interview. Further, per protocol, each officer has been placed on paid administrative leave.”

At the time of the incident, Agati noted, there were 15 customers, three vendors, and eight employees in the store, and two employees in the New Hampshire Made Country Store. No officers or civilians were injured, Agati said. Surveillance video from the store has been recovered and is being reviewed by investigators.

Anyone who saw the silver Ford pick-up truck today between noon and 12:30 p.m. is asked to contact New Hampshire State Police at 603-223-4381.

Jones, according to police reports online, was no stranger to police.

Back in September 2006, while he was homeless, he was picked up in Portsmouth on an unauthorized use of a motor vehicle charge, according to Seacoastonline.com, the theft of a truck.

A year later, in December 2007, he was arrested in Portsmouth on forgery and larceny charges in an effort to gain access to Oxycodone, Fosters.com noted. Police claimed at the time that he stole a check from an employer and cashed it for $2,500. He was sentenced on the charge in 2008.

In October 2013, he was arrested on a fugitive from justice charge for evading on a theft charge for altering, transferring, and moving price markings in Portsmouth, according to a post on Portsmouth Patch.