Man shot as lawmen tried to serve arrest warrant

Rochester Police Officers stand guard at the house where the incident occurred as they await a state evidence-gathering team Tuesday. (Harrison Thorp photo)

ROCHESTER – A man whom law enforcement officials were trying to serve an arrest warrant on was shot on Monday afternoon, according to a release Monday night from the assistant attorney general handling the case.

The incident occurred around 3 p.m. at 28 Perwinkle Drive inside the Saks Trailer Park on Milton Road a short ways south of Lone Oak Ice Cream.

The man who was shot was transported to Frisbie Memorial Hospital where he remains today. The extent of his injuries was not disclosed.

Rochester Police remained tight-lipped about the shooting, referring most questions to the state Attorney General’s office, who last night said that three probation/parole officers from the Department of Corrections and a Strafford County Sheriff’s deputy went to serve the warrant and that a short time later Rochester Police received a call for shots fired inside the home.
The news release from Benjamin J. Agati, an assistant attorney general, said investigators were still trying to determine how many shots were fired and who fired them.

The mobile home in which the shooting occurred is near the closed end of a horseshoe-type road that curves in from Milton Road and then back out again.

The shooting is being investigated by state officials because it involved a lawmen and the use of potentially deadly force.

The name of the man being served the warrant was not released.

No one else was hurt in the incident.

Meanwhile, residents who live on Periwinkle Drive described a chaotic scene as lawmen first arrived.

One resident, Thomas McCabe who formerly lived in Lebanon, said on Monday afternoon that police came “flying” down the road and was surprised they didn’t break their tires on the icy potholes. He said he never heard a gunshot.

McCabe said an elderly lady lived at 28 Periwinkle Drive with her son. It was speculated by neighbors that he was the one injured.

Crystal Kelly, who also lives on Periwinkle Drive, said first there were three Rochester Police cars with sirens wailing speeding down the road, followed by nine more and that officers pulled shotguns out. Soon State Police and Sheriff’s Deputies arrived as well as undercover lawmen, she said.

None of the residents spoken to said they’d heard a gunshot. Many of the residents seemed to take the incident in stride, but others were unnerved.

"Might as well be New York City," said one in disgust.

Officers blockaded the road at Milton Road and strung yellow tape across Periwinkle Drive near the incident scene.