Fate of Rochester man accused in McDonald's melee now in jury's hands

Robert C. Gorham listens to closing arguments Friday during the final day of his trial on assault and riot charges in connection with a fight at McDonald's last year. (Rochester Voice photo).

DOVER - The jury in the trial of a Rochester man accused of assault and riot during a melee at the Dover McDonald's drive-thru last year failed to reach a verdict on Friday and will continue deliberations on Tuesday after the Memorial Day weekend.

Robert C. Gorham, 33, of 809 Salmon Falls Road, who opted not to testify in his own defense on Friday, is facing up to 15 years in state prison in connection with the case.

Two others from Rochester charged in the attack, Champion J. Sprague, 25, of 18 Stillwater Circle; and Megan L. O'Neill, 27, of Spruce Street, pleaded guilty to all charges earlier this spring and were given suspended sentences.

No testimony was heard on the trial's final day, but in closing arguments defense lawyer Kimberly Shoen lambasted Dover Police and, in particular, the detective who investigated the case for focusing only on her client and his friends as suspects while failing to interview McDonald's employees or a homeless man thought to be an eyewitness.

You can choose like the Dover Police did that my client and his friends were the aggressors, or you can look at the second option, which was that this was mutual combat, Shoen said.

As proof she pointed out a statement in a Dover Police report from one of the victims, a South Berwick man, who said he wasn't going to get out of the truck, that he was just going to let his stepson "do his thing." The stepdad testified during trial he ultimately did get out after his wife ran to help her son.

Shoen also asserted the son, who was 18 at the time and the driver of the truck, could have chosen other options like roll up his window and call the police, but instead wanted to fight.

She characterized the melee that occurred a little before midnight on March 10, 2018, as one between two carloads of idiots and urged the jury to find her client innocent of all charges.

Shoen's closing arguments were followed by those from Strafford County Deputy Attorney Tim Sullivan, who began by saying, "There was just one carload of idiots that night."

He added that the case comprised the violence of one man who'd been drinking a lot and his friends, most of whom had also been drinking heavily.

After recounting that Gorham, Sprague, O'Neill and two others who were never charged had been to several drinking establishments around Dover that day, Sullivan said it was Gorham who threw the cup at the truck, yelled "Show us your tits, bitch" to the son's mom and "Do you need me to bitch slap you" after the son yelled at him to "Grow up."

Sullivan also said under New Hampshire law the son had every right to get out the truck and confront Gorham to protect his family.

Sullivan then rebutted Shoen's assertion that Dover Police Det. Sean Mask was prejudicial in his investigation of the case, noting that, unlike the victims, no one from O'Neill's VW ever called police and that O'Neill lied to police about who was with her that night, adding she was trying to protect Gorham and Sprague.