Newport Man who Allegedly Shot Up Car in Portsmouth Faces Charges

A 21-year-old Newport man wanted for allegedly shooting a Portsmouth man’s car with a shotgun in January was picked up by Portsmouth Police on a warrant Sunday and is now being held without bail.

Matthew Joseph Brown, of 48 Festival Field, reportedly was upset over his girlfriend’s efforts to track down an ex-boyfriend’s phone number, sparking the incident.

Police said they were dispatched to Bradley Terrace at around 8:20 p.m. on Jan. 6 for a report of vandalism to a motor vehicle.

But when police arrived, a resident told police she was watching TV when she heard a loud bang. Other residents also told police they heard a single bang.

That bang allegedly came from Brown, who used a shotgun to fire a single shot at the car above the gas cap on the driver’s side of the vehicle. No shell casings were found at the scene.

The owner of the damaged car told police that one of his ex-girlfriends, who was now dating Brown, had called a mutual friend and asked for his phone number.

The call occurred while the two men were hanging out, police said. The friend was told to ignore the message and not give the phone number.

Later that night, the Portsmouth man told police he came home to see his car was damaged.

Investigators determined that several rounds bounced of the car striking the east side of the house.

Brown is due to return to court on Aug. 5 for a status conference.

Court records show Brown is currently serving a pair of probation sentences after pleading no contest to charges of larceny in January and trespassing in June.