Suspect in Belmont mall gun discharge indicted on drugs, theft charges

Cody M. Yale, previously indicted for firing a handgun in the parking lot outside JOANN Fabrics, has been indicted again, this time on drugs and theft charges in Belknap County Superior Court.

Yale, 27, is accused of possessing methamphetamine and heroin or an analogue along with receiving stolen property after police officers found him asleep in a car fixed with stolen license plates.

Sgt. Christopher Rideout and Officer Luis Arias of the Belmont Police Department found Yale asleep behind the wheel of a Kia in the parking lot of Planet Fitness just before 9 p.m. on Dec. 14. The license plates attached to the vehicle were previously reported stolen from a Mazda 6 out of Tilton, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The officers approached Yale, who they determined was breathing due to the rise and fall of his chest, grabbed each of his wrists and attempted to wake him up. Yale was slumped forward and drooling onto his chest, according to the affidavit.

Upon his awakening, the officers noticed a small bag containing white or off-white powder between his lap and Yale confirmed he had ingested drugs intravenously within two hours of their encounter.

The officers searched Yale’s person while initiating an arrest and discovered another small bag containing white crystals and said he was shaking, his eyes were bloodshot and he wasn’t able to maintain focus or attention. 

Officers then seized the license plates and then transported the vehicle to a detached garage at the Belmont Police Department.

Yale told Rideout and Arias the small bags of tan-colored powder contained heroin, but tests performed by officers returned inconclusive. The small bag of a white crystalline substance found on Yale’s lap returned positive for methamphetamines as did the contents of another bag discovered in his pocket. 

The affidavit was sworn Jan. 16 by Officer David Estes. 

Yale is charged with one count of receiving stolen property and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.

Yale was also indicted on charges related to an incident in January when he allegedly fired a handgun in the direction of another person in the parking lot of JOANN Fabrics at Belknap Marketplace in Belmont.

Officers located and arrested Yale along with his stepfather in the woods between the WOW Trail and Lake Winnisquam near the creek. Officers found the weapon buried in the snow near the town beach shortly following his arrest.

The March grand jury handed down three additional indictments related to that offense.

Yale is charged with reckless conduct and domestic violence with a deadly weapon that placed, or may have placed, another individual in danger of serious bodily injury after pointing and firing a 9mm pistol toward a vehicle containing an intimate partner and firing multiple times.  

He is also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a dangerous weapon, a class B felony. Yale was previously convicted of one charge of first degree assault with a deadly weapon in Belknap Superior Court on May 11, 2021. 

Yale is also charged with one count of falsifying physical evidence by altering, destroying or hiding it, a class B felony, for allegedly burying the handgun used in the shooting in the snow near where he was arrested with the intention of hampering a criminal investigation, according to the indictment. 

Yale will stand trial Tuesday, April 23, at 1 p.m.