Belmont man’s death ruled suicide after officer fires shots in confrontation

Laconia Police block entrance to the Belmont Irving Station off Route 106 at Plummer Road on Saturday after a Belmont Police officer shot Joseph Mazzatelli, 46, of Belmont, after Mazzatelli reportedly brandished a gun, then shot himself. Mazzatelli later died. No one else was hurt in the incident. (Bea Lewis/for The Laconia Daily Sun)

Autopsy on Joseph Mazzitelli finds three gunshot wounds, one self-inflicted

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, LACONIA DAILY SUN

BELMONT — A Belmont man wanted by police was determined to have shot himself Saturday afternoon at a Belmont gas station when confronted by police.

An autopsy conducted on Joseph Mazzitelli, 46, by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jennie V. Duval found that Mazzitelli died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that the manner of his death was suicide. According to Duval, in addition to the self-inflicted gunshot wound, Mazzitelli also suffered two additional gunshot wounds. The exact number and sequence of gunshots fired by both Mazzitelli and the Belmont Police officer  involved in the incident remains under investigation, according to a press release from the state Attorney General's Office.

The New Hampshire State Police are conducting an investigation into Saturday’s 2:50 p.m. incident, and the Belmont officer involved is on administrative leave pending the outcome of that probe.

Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald and State Police Col. Christopher J. Wagner issued a joint statement about the incident, saying the officer, whose name has not been released, was attempting to arrest Joseph Mazzitelli, 46, on a warrant, and “an encounter ensued, during which Mazzitelli displayed a firearm.”

The officer discharged his weapon next to Mazzitelli’s car, which was parked at a gas pump at the Irving station at 9 Plummer Hill Road, according to the statement. Mazzitelli was pronounced dead after being transported to Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia.

While there were 11 witnesses at the gas station when the incident occurred, no one else was injured during the confrontation.

Authorities would not disclose the nature of the outstanding warrant.

Mazzitelli had been scheduled to appear in Belknap County Superior Court on Nov. 3, following his indictment on four counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and three counts of unprivileged physical contact with a Belmont woman, but the court confirmed it had no outstanding warrants against him on any existing cases. The current warrant had come from the Belmont Police Department, which said it cannot release details because of the investigation. Assistant Attorney General Jason Casey also declined to provide details about the warrant beyond confirming its existence.

The AG’s office said the officer was not wearing a body camera, and his cruiser was not equipped with a video camera. There were surveillance cameras on the premises, and the investigation will include a review of those videos. State Police also intended to interview the officer about the incident early this week.

(Ginger Kozlowski also contributed to this story.)

Belmont Fire Chief Mike Newhall talks on his cell phone as Belmont Chief of Police Mark Lewandoski, right, and State Police await the arrival of the Major Crimes Unit at the Circle K store and Irving gas station. (Bea Lewis/for The Laconia Daily Sun)