Nashua Man Accused Of Firing Gun Through Apartment Floor

NASHUA, NH — A man from Nashua was arrested on a felony charge, accused of firing a gun inside an apartment, after a multi-month investigation.

Around 1 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2022, police were sent to an apartment on Pine Street for a conditions check. The family member of a woman who lived in the apartment with special needs said she reported that she woke up after hearing a loud bang the night before. She walked into her living room and reported seeing a bullet hole in the ceiling of her apartment and in a side table. The caller also reported two Hispanic men entering the woman’s apartment to inspect the damage.

“They left but returned soon after,” a detective wrote. “They patched the hole in the ceiling and provided (the woman) with a new end table. The two individuals apologized to (the woman) for the damage but offered no explanation prior to leaving.”

Upon inspecting the apartment, detectives found a fired projectile on a bookcase, an affidavit said, and determined its location was consistent with a bullet being shot through the floor above. After speaking with the building manager, who gave detectives the upstairs tenant's name, they connected Pablo Soto-Batista, 19, of no fixed address in Nashua, to the unit, an affidavit said.

Pablo Soto-Batista

On Jan. 6, detectives met with the tenants and confirmed Soto-Batista “stayed in the apartment, without their permission,” the report said. On the night in question, a friend dropped a firearm and it fired inside the apartment, they told police, but they did not know the friend’s name.

Soto-Batista was arrested on April 9 on felony stalking-domestic violence-subsequent and two counts of domestic violence-simple assault after an incident with two women. Previously, he was convicted in July 2022 on a stalking charge. Soto-Batista was released on cash bail and was indicted on the charges in July.

On April 11, the detectives found Soto-Batista on Spruce Street and interviewed him. He reportedly told police that, while taking a shower, his friend, “Cha,” accidentally fired his handgun. He did not know Cha’s full name and they did not report the incident to police, the report said.

Soto-Batista gave Cha’s cell phone number to police, and later that day, detectives went to Lessard Street to speak to a possible suspect named Bryan, who was connected to the phone number. He was later identified as Bryan Thomas Mateo Perez Jr., 22.

In mid-July, the report said Mateo Perez was interviewed by the detectives and admitted to accidentally firing his Smith & Wesson M&P Shield .45 caliber handgun in the apartment.

“Perez stated that he was carrying something with his hands when his handgun fell from his waistband,” a detective wrote. “Perez attempted to catch the firearm and, in the process, accidentally fired a round through the floor and into the apartment below.”

Mateo Perez said he and Soto-Batista inspected the damage in the neighboring apartment, bought items at a hardware store, and repaired the damage to the ceiling, the report said. He then placed his firearm on consignment at Pete’s Gun & Tackle in Hudson. Detectives seized the gun and records from the shop as evidence.

Five days later, a warrant was issued for Mateo Perez’s arrest. He was charged on July 27 on a single felony count of reckless conduct-deadly weapon.

The detectives accused Mateo Perez of making “full admissions to firing his pistol inside Arel Manor” in a post-arrest Mirandized interview. He was arraigned on Aug. 17 in Hillsborough County Superior Court South. Mateo Perez is due back in on Sept. 21 for a second arraignment. An interpreter request form was also submitted to the court for him.

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