It was a busy month in the Upper Valley for criminal cases, from breaking news on recent police investigations to resolutions in federal and state court cases.
Here’s an overview of what we’re following, with links to full stories:
The latest
Canaan Police have yet to locate a firearm allegedly brandished by Craig Moses, a 38-year-old resident of Tilton, New Hampshire, at a motocross event in Canaan. A selfie Moses took with Canaan Police Officer Colton Jack the evening of his arrest prompted a review of potential department policy violations, we reported on Oct. 12.
New Hampshire State Police are investigating an incident involving Claremont Mayor Dale Girard, who is also a state representative, his wife, Allyn Girard, and at least one other person, we reported on Oct. 15. The Valley News will provide updates as more details become available.
The Department of Homeland Security is seeking to deport Jose Gonzalez Rojas, a 25-year-old Colombian man with a Woodside, New York, address, after Lebanon police arrested him during a residential burglary in West Lebanon. A second suspect remains at large, we reported on Oct. 29.
Ongoing
Lebanon attorney Stephen Girdwood is facing disbarment after a hearing panel with the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s Attorney Discipline Office found clear and convincing evidence that he misappropriated roughly $500,000 in escrowed funds, we reported on Oct. 10.
Former Vermont House member Noel Neely died two days before her body was found at her Norwich residence in May, based on details from Vermont State Police search warrant applications obtained by the Valley News. The circumstances surrounding her death remain under investigation, we reported on Oct. 13.
Newport Police have accused Dylan Stanley, 19, of driving intoxicated in September and injuring his three passengers in a crash on Breakneck Road. Stanley faces six felony charges and one misdemeanor, we reported on Oct. 19.
Kenneth Forcier, 64, of St. Helens, Oregon, whom police labeled a “sovereign citizen,” was denied bail after a judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf to multiple felony and misdemeanor charges. The charges stem from a chaotic arrest this summer near the parking lot of a Japanese restaurant in West Lebanon, we reported on Oct. 19.
A Sullivan County Superior Court judge denied bail to Michael Martin III, a 19-year-old Claremont man whom police accused of drunken driving in an August crash in Plainfield. The crash injured three people and later resulted in the death of a 53-year-old White River Junction man, we reported on Oct. 20.
Megan Naylor, who police say gouged out another woman’s eye in August, was arrested in Concord and extradited to Vermont after evading police for two months. She pleaded not guilty to charges of maiming and aggravated assault and is being held without bail, we reported on Oct. 24.
Eight months after Corinth resident Jeremy Kawalec, 25, died by gunshot on Valentine’s Day, state police have cited his partner, Donna Guillette, 24, on a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment. Police allege she introduced a firearm into the situation knowing Kawalec was expressing intentions of self-harm, we reported on Oct. 27.
Jayden McClanahan, 21, of Hartford, Connecticut, a suspect in a Haverhill apartment shooting that killed one person and injured another, had an evidentiary hearing in Grafton Superior Court, where the state presented video evidence and testimony from police, we reported on Oct. 28.
Concluded
Jeffrey Mullins, 47, was sentenced to six to 10 years, suspended to six months, with 10 years of probation for his involvement in a botched robbery turned fatal shooting in Hartford in August 2025, we reported on Oct. 1.
Robert Snider, 49, a former employee at ABC’s Child Care Center at New London Hospital, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault after allegedly grabbing and bruising a child on the job, accepting a sentence that may let him avoid jail time, we reported on Oct. 11.
James Dyer, a 61-year-old street sweeper operator who struck a 28-year-old construction worker in Hartford last year, took a plea deal of four years of probation and possibly no jail time for negligent operation causing serious injury, we reported on Oct. 12.
A federal judge sentenced Marshall Gagne, a 35-year-old Weathersfield man, to 10 years in prison for possessing firearms in Vermont and possessing fentanyl and cocaine with intent to distribute in New Hampshire, we reported on Oct. 16.
Steven Powell, a 56-year-old former chief medical officer at New London Hospital, was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for a $1.9 million scheme to defraud Medicare by prescribing unnecessary medical devices to patients he had never consulted with or examined, we reported on Oct. 20.
West Lebanon resident Hannah Vanalstyne was sentenced in Grafton Superior Court to 12 months in jail, all suspended, for helping her boyfriend collect more than $2,000 in unemployment benefits while he was incarcerated, we reported on Oct. 21.
Anything else we should look into?
Contact Alex Ebrahimi at 603-727-3212 or Sofia Langlois at 603-727-3242. You can also send tips to newseditor@vnews.com.
