Belmont man guilty on felony weapons charges

LACONIA — John H. Chapman, 30, of 376 Bean Hill Road, Belmont, has pleaded guilty in Belknap County Superior Court to two felony firearms possession charges in a plea arrangement with the Belknap County Attorney’s Office.

Under the terms of the agreement, accepted by Judge James D. O’Neil III on Monday, Chapman will serve four to eight years in prison, with the potential of one year off by participating in the Focus drug rehabilitation program.

Chapman could have faced as much as a 16-year prison sentence on the two felony charges because of the enhanced penalties for being an armed career criminal, but, under the plea arrangement, he received a suspended sentence on the second weapons charge, subject to seven years' good behavior, and authorities dropped additional charges of reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.

The case arose from a Meredith Police Department check on a person sleeping in a vehicle with Rhode Island plates in the Cumberland Farms parking lot on Route 3. Officers Kevin O’Reilly and Sgt. Philip McLaughlin roused Chapman, who handed them his driver’s license and told the officers that he was a felon on parole and that he was waiting for a friend. The officers could see a glass smoking pipe in the car, but said he refused to turn it over. One officer also noticed there was a pistol in the glove compartment and the two officers ordered Chapman to get out of the car. Instead, he rolled up his window, locked the door, and put the car in reverse, backing into the front of a police cruiser before leaving the parking lot.

Three Meredith police officers and two state troopers pursued him at high speed to Route 25, losing him at the intersection of Route 25 and Quarry Road. McLaughlin later saw Chapman’s vehicle on Dew Point Lane in Center Harbor and, when he attempted to stop Chapman, the car continued to speed away until it crashed into the front yard at 14 Dew Point Lane. McLaughlin was able to arrest him at that location.

After his arrest, Chapman told police that he had two loaded semi-automatic pistols in the car, which they seized.

In court on Monday, Assistant County Attorney Keith Cormier said police would dispose of the guns and return a backpack with personal items to Chapman’s family. Meredith police wanted $971.55 in restitution for the damaged police cruiser, and the rental company that owned the car Chapman was driving wanted restitution for those damages, which have not yet been calculated, Cormier said.

Defense Attorney John Bresaw told the judge that his client had taken responsibility for his actions very quickly, and he was well aware of the potential for the court to impose the entire 16-year sentence if he failed to live up to the terms of the plea agreement. He said Chapman had a longstanding substance abuse problem.

“If he can get a handle on that, he can lead a productive life,” Bresaw said, noting that his family was supporting him in his effort at rehabilitation.

“This case demonstrates our office’s strong commitment to strictly enforcing the laws that prohibit felons from possessing deadly weapons,” said Livernois. “Keeping guns out of the hands of those people who have demonstrated that they should not be trusted with them is one of our top priorities. Mr. Chapman’s behavior in this case put the members of the Meredith Police Department as well the general public at grave risk, and cannot be tolerated.”

Chapman had previously been charged in Pennsylvania with possession of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a permit, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. He also had faced previous drug possession charges.