Nashua Man Accused Of Making Threats, Pretending To Be A U.S. Marshal

CONCORD, NH — A man from Nashua is facing several charges, including felonies, after being accused of making threats and impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Around 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, police were sent to Amherst Street for a report of a hit-and-run crash. A driver told police he was traveling west when he came upon a large black SUV with a tire on the rear with an orange stripe on the tire, identified later as a 2023 Land Rover Defender. The driver thought the SUV had broken down and drove around it.

The driver continued to drive on Amherst Street when the SUV “rammed” the man’s vehicle and sped away without stopping, an affidavit said.

An attempt to locate message was sent out to other police officers and a second officer identified the vehicle as “being very distinct,” matching the description, and belonging to Jeremy McKenna, 38, of Amherst Street in Nashua.

Around 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday, an officer was sent to East Hollis Street for a report of a disorderly motor vehicle involving a man who called 911 and claimed to be a U.S. Marshal. He said he was blocking a Honda Accord. Police reported a second 911 call from another man who claimed a black SUV had struck his vehicle and was now on Temple Street.

Police arrived and spoke with a 17-year-old. He said he was on East Hollis when the SUV made a U-turn behind him, pulled up next to him, and struck his Accord, damaging the door and mirror, the report said. The Accord then got pushed into the curb, forcing the teen to stop driving, a report said.

The man, identified as McKenna in an affidavit, was accused of running into the Accord, yelling at the driver, claiming to be a marshal, and accusing the teen of having drugs in his car. A passenger, 15, exited the vehicle and McKenna was accused of yelling at him, too.

“(The driver) exited the (Accord) and observed Jeremy had a chopstick in one hand and a rock in his other hand that he held up while he yelled at (the teen). Jeremy also threw the rock, which struck the hood and windshield of (the teen’s) vehicle, resulting in damages.”

A second caller also reported to 911 that an SUV on East Hollis Street had struck his car.

Other witnesses also were reportedly in the area.

One accused McKenna of pinning the Accord, yelling at the teens, claiming he was a U.S. Marshal, and threw a rock at the car. A second man said McKenna yelled at the teens and when he tried to intervene, got pushed, and then, McKenna through the rock, an affidavit stated.

An officer working a traffic detail on Temple Street reported seeing the Defender and claimed it approached his position “at a high rate of speed.” McKenna, the officer said, “informed him that the operator of a vehicle behind him had pulled a gun on him.” He then drove off, the report said.

The second caller reported to the detail officer he followed the Land Rover to get information from the registration and during this process, the driver of the SUV drove into the driver’s side door of his car, which was also an Accord, a report stated.

More officers were called to the scene and McKenna was arrested on a conduct after an accident charge.

Three detectives reinterviewed victims and witnesses and later, filed more charges against McKenna — one felony count of impersonating a police officer and three felony counts of reckless conduct as well as criminal mischief, breach of bail, two criminal threatening, and three conduct after an accident charges. The breach charge was due to McKenna being arrested by police on Oct. 4.

When questioned, McKenna requested an attorney and refused to provide a statement, an affidavit said. He was held on preventative detention and arraigned in Hillsborough County Superior Court South on Wednesday. McKenna has a dispositional conference hearing on Dec. 7.

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