Felon Arrested After Best Buy Robbery At Mall Of NH

MANCHESTER, NH — After receiving tips from the public, Manchester police were able to arrest and charge a local felon after an armed robbery at Best Buy at the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester on Thursday. Police were sent to the store around 4 p.m. for a report of a robbery. A store employee reported a man grabbed items from a shelf, headed for the door, and began "swinging a knife" at a store employee as he tried to stop him from leaving.

The employee, at that point, stepped away and let the suspect leave with about $2,000 worth of store merchandise, according to Heather Hamel, the public information officer for the Manchester Police Department.

After releasing information to the public and the press, tips began to flow into police and George Johnson, 27, a convicted felon from Manchester, was fingered as a suspect. He was arrested Friday on armed robbery and convicted felon in possession of a deadly weapon. Since he was out on probation, he was held without bail and will be arraigned on Monday.

Carlo Capano, the chief of the Manchester Police Department, thanked the public for their assistance, as well as the officers involved in the case, so Johnson could be caught in "a timely manner," calling him "an absolute danger" to the safety of the community.

"Johnson is a person that has clearly not learned from his previous mistakes, and he continues to break the law and place the public in danger," Capano said. "We cannot allow this type of behavior to continue, our community’s safety always has to come first."

According to posts on Patch, Johnson, who was convicted on burglar and drug charges last year, was placed on escape status earlier this year after failing to return to the Calumet Transitional Housing Unit while he was a minimum-security resident.

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Manchester Police Department and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the removal request process for New Hampshire Patch police reports.

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