Legal Briefs: News from Around NH

Former Sheriff Mark Brave offered plea deal, Silver Scone Teas back in court ... and more

Former Sheriff Mark Brave offered plea deal

Court documents reveal a plea deal is under consideration for former Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave, who is facing eight felony charges. He could receive 64-plus years in jail if convicted at trial, according to prosecutors.

Leif Becker, Brave’s attorney, asked for and was granted a two-week extension on a dispositional conference that had been scheduled March 5. In his motion, Becker noted he had received requested discovery material and the plea deal from prosecutors. He said he had not yet had sufficient time to review the potential deal with Brave, thus the extension request.

“No specific deal has been agreed to,” Becker said, reached by phone. “As part of weighing all the options, preparing for trial, we are doing a considerable review of the discovery provided. Given the volume of material, we requested more time. A plea deal was offered but we have not reached any decisions.”

Assistant Attorney General Joe Fincham agreed to the extension, and it has been granted by the court. The new dispositional hearing is scheduled Tuesday, March 26 at 1 p.m., at Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood.

A spokesperson for the state said no details are being released on the plea deal offer per the laws governing the process.

An agreement between the defense and prosecution would have to be reached and a judge’s approval would be required for a deal to be enacted. — Karen Dandurant, Foster’s Daily Democrat

Silver Scone Teas in New Ipswich heads back to court, Housing Appeals Board

The Town of New Ipswich will be back before the state’s Housing Appeals Board next week for another round related to the approval of the Silver Scone Teas tea party business in the town’s Village District.

A group of neighbors who oppose the approval have filed an appeal of the variance issued to Silver Scone Teas, and a pre-trial hearing in front of the HAB has been set for March 11.  The final hearing on the issue is scheduled for March 25.

At the same time, neighbors have also filed an amended appeal with Superior Court after exhausting the town approval process regarding the Planning Board’s issuance of site plan approval for the business.

Both processes will cover many of the same issues.

According to an amended petition for appeal filed at the Hillsborough Superior Court, South, on March 3, neighbors allege that the town’s Zoning Board of Adjustment “acted unlawfully and unreasonably” by denying the group’s motion for a rehearing on the matter.

The motion for rehearing was related to the Planning Board’s decision to grant a site plan approval to the owner of Silver Scone Teas, Jane Elwell, in June. The group of neighbors, along with their lawyer, Nancy Clark, who also lives in the neighborhood, filed an appeal of the Planning Board’s decision with the ZBA, which was denied, as was the subsequent motion for a rehearing.

The complaint alleges that multiple members of the Zoning Board were not eligible to sit on the case for a variety of reasons. It claims ZBA members David Lage and Walker Farrey, who sat on the case, have not regularly been reappointed to their positions on the board by the Select Board at the end of their terms, as required.

The complaint also alleges that both Lage and Farrey showed bias during proceedings. During a conversation following Clark making a motion for members to recuse themselves, Farrey allegedly said, “If there’s bias and it gets remanded back down, we redo this all over again,” which Clark claims showed Farrey already knew the ZBA was going to approve the application.

The complaint also claims that ZBA members Jay Hopkins and Brett Kivela showed bias during the proceedings by having conversations with real estate agents outside of a public meeting about the potential impact to property values a business like Silver Scone might have.

The amended complaint alleges that the Planning Board approved the site plan with a parking lot surface and grading, handicapped parking space, stormwater drainage structure, walkway and septic plan that violate the town’s zoning ordinance. The complaint also alleges that the Planning Board found the application complete when it was not. — Ashley Saari, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript

Ex-Portsmouth officer pays back stolen money – union responds to ‘unfortunate’ situation

Ex-city police officer Dean Outhouse paid restitution Wednesday to the Portsmouth Police Patrolman’s Union after pleading guilty to embezzling $17,340.02.

The Stratham resident retired from the Portsmouth Police Department in July 2022. In December, he was indicted by a Rockingham County Superior Court grand jury for taking thousands of dollars from the union while serving as its treasurer. He was indicted on a Class B felony charge of theft by unauthorized taking. 

On Wednesday at the Brentwood court, Outhouse pleaded guilty to the charge and the terms of his plea agreement were approved by a county judge, according to the New Hampshire attorney general’s office.

Portsmouth police Detective Charley Raizes, elected president of the union last month, reacted to the guilty plea in a prepared statement.

“This entire situation has been unfortunate and disappointing to say the least, but the union is ready to put this behind us and move forward,” he said.

City police Detective Erik Widerstrom was the president of the union at the time of Outhouse’s indictment in December. 

“I would like to thank Detective Erik Widerstrom, past president of the PPPU, for his keen attention to detail in discovering Dean’s criminal activity involving the union’s bank account, as well as Investigator Allison Vachon of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office for her diligence in working to get us the outcome we were hoping for,” Raizes added.

Per the terms of his accepted deal, Outhouse was sentenced to a year in the county house of corrections, though he will not serve any of the jail time pending good behavior, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office. 

Outhouse must also surrender all of his law enforcement certifications and cannot seek future employment as a law enforcement officer. He will also be placed on a national registry of decertified officers, as well as the state’s Exculpatory Evidence Schedule, otherwise known as the “Laurie List” of New Hampshire police officers with known misconduct and credibility issues. 

Outhouse’s attorney, James Rosenberg shared a statement on Thursday after Outhouse’s plea and sentencing hearing, writing that the former officer is taking full responsibility for his conduct.

“These events arose out of a difficult time in his life when he was working two jobs and struggling personally,” Rosenberg said of Outhouse. “When these events were brought to his attention, he worked cooperatively with the attorney general’s office to account for his mistake and paid full restitution as part of his plea agreement yesterday.”

The felony theft by unauthorized taking charge was punishable by upwards of 3.5 to 7 years in jail and a maximum $4,000 fine.

The case was investigated by law enforcement officers with the New Hampshire Department of Justice and was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Joe Fincham II of the state attorney general’s Public Integrity Unit. — Ian Lenahan, Portsmouth Herald