Man accused in homeless camp shooting facing 10-20 after indictment

Michael Berencsi (Rochester Police photo)

ROCHESTER - The suspect in a July shooting at a Rochester homeless camp has been indicted by a Strafford County grand jury.

Michael Berencsi, 48, a city transient, was formally charged with second degree assault, a class B felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

The shooting occurred on July 24 in a homeless encampment not far from Wendy's restaurant on Wakefield Street.

The woman who was shot suffered serious, nonlife threatening injuries and was taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital for treatment.

​According to court documents, Berensci "recklessly caused bodily injury to another by ... shooting (the victim) with a firearm during a struggle, resulting in a gunshot wound to her left hip."

Berencsi continues to be held at Strafford County Jail on no bail, a jail spokesman said today.

The indictment were handed down on Oct. 15 and released to the public last week.

An indictment is not an indication of guilt, rather that enough evidence has been gathered to move forward to trial.