NEW HAMPSHIRE’S FASTEST GROWING ONLINE NEWSPAPER

Jury selection begins today in Planet Fitness beating case

Comment Print
Related Articles
An image from the widely viewed beating video; inset, Jordan Lamonde.

DOVER - Jury selection begins today for a Portsmouth man charged exactly one year ago today in the vicious beating of a Rochester Planet Fitness employee as she left work following her shift on June 12, 2017.

Jordan C. Lamonde, 23, of 900 Woodbury Av., Portsmouth, could face up to seven years in state prison if found guilty in the assault, which was captured on high-definition surveillance video and released in part and viewed by thousands on social media after police posted it during a lengthy investigation leading up the arrest.

Deputy County Attorney Tim Sullivan, who is prosecuting the case, said on Monday that the trial is expected to begin Aug. 2 or 3.

He said the prosecution is prepared to call up to seven or eight witnesses.

"We'll see how it goes," he said.

He said he was aware of no known witnesses for the defense.

Lamonde was indicted by a Strafford County grand jury in October. According to the indictment, Lamonde "did recklessly cause bodily injury to (the victim) under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life when he struck her with his hands and knee multiple times, and threw her down on to pavement causing bodily injury."

After a nearly six-week investigation police finally caught up with did Lamonde at a Portsmouth health facility though they did not release the circumstances under which they responded there.

On the night of the attack Rochester Police responded to the gym around 10 p.m. for a report that a woman had been assaulted.
Upon arrival, officers found an 18-year-old female who told police that she was walking out to her car when she was attacked from behind by an unknown man.
Police first reported the incident to the public on June 19 after reviewing high-resolution surveillance video that clearly showed the entirety of the attack, during which the victim was struck nearly 40 times as well as being thrown to the ground and kneed in the head.
They released the first few seconds of the video on the department's Facebook Page, prompting a storm of outrage and theories about who the attacker might be.
The victim also took to social media in the following days expressing her feelings about the attack and later asking people to stop calling her with tips about her attacker's identity. At one point she begged the public to leave her alone and call the police with any tips.
Despite the severity of the beating, she received only minor injuries, mostly bumps and bruises, which she showed on her Facebook page.
Surveillance video taken throughout the day of the attack showed that Lamonde arrived at the gym's North Main Street parking lot around 2 p.m. and moved his car several times positioning it closer to the victim's vehicle as he did.

"This was a vicious, unprovoked attack that shocked our community, and I am proud to report that the suspect has been identified and apprehended," Rochester Police Chief Paul Toussaint said the day of Lamonde's arrest.

Read more from:
Top Stories
Tags:
None
Share:
Comment Print
Powered by Bondware
News Publishing Software

The browser you are using is outdated!

You may not be getting all you can out of your browsing experience
and may be open to security risks!

Consider upgrading to the latest version of your browser or choose on below: