Portsmouth man nabbed in brutal Planet Fitness beating

Jordan C. Lamonde (Rochester Police photo)

ROCHESTER - Six weeks after a woman was brutally attacked in the parking lot of the Rochester Planet Fitness and more than a month after Rochester Police launched an exhaustive investigation into the beating, a 22-year-old Portsmouth man was arrested Monday at Portsmouth Regional Hospital and charged in the attack.
Jordan C. Lamonde, no street address given, was taken into custody around 1:30 p.m. after Rochester Police Detectives responded to the hospital.
He has been charged with second degree assault, a Class B felony that carries a maximum penalty of seven years in state prison.
Police did not release the circumstances under which they responded to the Portsmouth health facility.
The arrest stems from a horrific June 12 incident that began when it is alleged Lamonde got out of his car, came up behind a young woman walking to her car after finishing her shift at Planet Fitness and began beating her in the head. As she fell to the ground, he kneed her in the head and torso in a beatdown that lasted a couple of minutes.

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.
After a couple of weeks of investigating police developed a suspect in the case and executed several search warrants.
Rochester Police Capt. Jason Thomas said earlier this month that police were holding off on any arrests until they received back test results from items seized.
"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 on Monday.
Lamonde was held on $150,000 cash bail pending an arraignment today at Strafford County Superior Court.