Teen Nabbed in Attempted Break-In

A former Merrimack teen was arrested early Saturday morning for attempting to break into a home on Duck Pond Lane in Merrimack.

Just after 5 a.m., a caller told police that a young man was attempting to break into the home using a knife to pry a screen from a window, police say.

Kyle Barka, 18, of 99 Powers St., Nashua, was found attempting to flee the area on foot, police say. 

When Barka was taken into custody, he was also found to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana, police say.

Barka was charged with attempted burglary, criminal trespass, possession of a controlled drug and criminal mischief.

He was placed on $25,000 cash or surety bail, but also held for 72 hours for violating probation for a conviction of a burglary charge last year, police say.

According to Lt. Paul Trepaney, Barka was convicted of a burglary charge last year and was serving a deferred sentence. He said the parole board and the courts were made aware of Barka's recent arrest but he was not sure how the arrest would affect Barka's parole. As of Wednesday, Barka was still being held at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections on Valley Street in Manchester, Trepaney said.

According to news reports from last February, Barka, formerly of 7 Coleman Path, Merrimack,  and his friend Sean Walker were caught by police, burglarizing a house on Belmont Drive.

Barka, a Merrimack High School senior, played football and basketball for the Tomahawks and in November was named as an honorable mention on the Div. II All-State team.

An article about Barka posted on nh-highschoolsports.com on Nov. 25 said playing football again, after leaving the sport in eighth grade, helped get the teen out of "some bad things."

“What got me away from it (playing football) were some bad things,” Barka said. “I just wanted to stop doing that. It forces you to be good. I wish I didn’t stop playing. It’s just something to do to keep me out of trouble.”

Barka's coach, Joe Battista, also pointed to coming back to football as a turning point for him.

“He went on a little bit of a different path, but we were able to get him back on football,” Battista said. “Football has really helped Kyle turn his life around. He’s got a path setup."

Barka is scheduled for a probable cause hearing in Merrimack District Court on June 20.