Laconia womanis alleged victim of back-to-back domestic violence incidents, 1 involving her husband & the other involving her brother

Published Date

LACONIA — As if to underscore U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's stop in the city yesterday to encourage support for domestic violence prevention measures, a local man appeared in the 4th Circuit Court, Laconia Division to face three charges of violating a restraining order in a domestic violence case.
Affidavits said Patrick McIntire, 25, of 41 A Garfield St. appeared yesterday morning for violating a protective order Thursday morning taken out on him by his mother, who he allegedly assaulted the night before.
Lt. Rich Simmons said reports from officers said they responded to 41 A Garfield Street at 10:34 p.m. Wednesday to learn McIntire had pushed his mother and his sister after arriving home.
Once, said Simmons, he even pushed her to the ground and officers said he was walking around the house in an aggressive manner.
McIntire's sister and his girlfriend told police they tried to stop McIntire from pushing his mother and in the process his sister was also pushed. During the assault, McIntire also allegedly ripped the phone from his sister's hands in an effort to stop her from calling police.
He was charged Wednesday with two counts of simple assault and one count of obstructing the reporting of a crime — all misdemeanors — and released on personal recognizance bail. He returned the next day to his mother's house and that's when he was charged with the protective order violations.
The reason McIntire's sister was staying with her mother at the time of the confrontation was she too was a victim of domestic violence. She told police she was "re-traumatized" by the altercation with her brother.
At 6:22 p.m. on Wednesday, said Simmons, McIntire's mother had taken her daughter to Lakes Region General Hospital after she had allegedly been assaulted by her husband. He said that hospital protocols require the police to be called when an assault victim comes to the emergency room.
He said the responding officer took her statement and issued a 12-hour domestic violence order against her husband, Colin Bertram. Bertram was located in Moultonborough by Moultonborough Police who agreed to process him there and release him on personal recognizance bail.
Otherwise, said city police, Laconia would have had to send a cruiser and an officer to Moultonborough to get him. Police said he is staying in Moultonborough with relatives and is charged with one count of simple assault.
McIntire was ordered held by Judge James Carroll Friday morning on $300 cash-only bail on the protective order violations and a officer from the Belknap County House of Corrections said he was still incarcerated as of 7 p.m. yesterday.
Laconia Prosecutor Jim Sawyer said the 12-hour domestic violence order is a key tool police used to find alleged abusers and hold them. He said the law is designed to stop abusers from returning to their victims and gives all police the right to detain an alleged abuser without a warrant for 12 hours after the complaint is made.
He explained that without that law, Moultonborough Police would not have been able to detain Bertram in a timely manner.
Sawyer said the law was enacted to stop domestic homicides that can occur within hours after a victim notifies police of an assault. He said in the time it takes an officer to calm the situation, care for the victim, and prepare an arrest warrant and find a judge or justice of the peace who will sign it, the abuser can either be "zip codes away" or lying in wait to re-abuse.
He said the law is especially important in smaller communities that often have only one patrol officer on duty.
In Belmont, Lt. Richard Mann said he seen domestic abuse increase dramatically as the economy has worsened. Police logs from the past week show Belmont Police responded to 10 domestic violence-related incidents including one assault where a man — John Stebbins, 39, of 48 Orchard Hill Road — hit his girlfriend and was charged with two counts of simple assault. Police are also investigating one report of child abuse.
Mann said the 12-hour domestic violence law coupled with programs like New Beginnings are integral to reducing domestic violence.
"That law is absolutely critical to have," he said, noting that abusers often flee the scene only to return later and re-abuse.
Police also said that domestic violence is often fueled by alcohol and/or drugs.
Simmons said police statements in the McIntire incident indicate that alcohol was involved and Mann said alcohol was involved in the Stebbins arrest.