Man awaiting trial ditches ankle monitor at Laconia hospital

LACONIA — A man who was being monitored via an ankle device is being sought by the U.S. Marshals Service after he removed the monitor while in the city sometime on Sunday.

Anthony Clark, 41, who is 5'7" and weighs 230 pounds, was released on an ankle monitor from Belknap County Jail to receive medical care at Concord Hospital-Laconia, and slipped out of view of local law enforcement sometime on Sunday morning, when he apparently removed the monitoring device.

Law enforcement wasn’t aware of Clark’s absconding until around 10 p.m. on Sunday evening, when a member of the public noticed the monitoring device laying on High Street, according to Police Chief Matt Canfield. A search of the area was immediately conducted, but it is now believed Clark is most likely no longer in Laconia.

Clark had been in pre-trial detention at Belknap County Jail, awaiting trial on charges including strangulation, simple assault, stalking and witness tampering, according to a press release from the U.S. Marshals Service.

While he was in the care of Belknap County, Clark required medical care, and was transitioned to personal recognizance bail, with the condition he wear an ankle monitoring device, so he could receive care at Concord Hospital-Laconia without the need for shackles and a personal guard provided by either the county’s corrections or sheriff’s department.

Clark was in the hospital for 12 days, said County Jail Superintendent Michelle Wetherbee, before removing the device sometime on Sunday morning. She noted that, because he was on bail, he is not considered an escaped inmate.

“Once he’s released on PR bail, he’s just like you or me when we go to the hospital,” Wetherbee said, noting he would have been free to receive visitors or make phone calls. “He was not an inmate at the time.”

Wetherbee said she didn’t know why the monitoring device didn’t automatically issue an alert when it was removed. The device was provided to the county by Track Group, which did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

“He must have just been discharged, cut off his ankle monitor and left,” said Canfield, noting his department was alerted to the situation when a person noticed the device and called the department at 9:50 p.m. on July 28.

“If the public sees or hears anything they should call, he needs to be taken into custody,” Canfield said. He noted his department had previous encounters with Clark, including in 2022 when he was charged with a similar list of offenses. Canfield said his department arrested him again on July 21 of this year, on charges of breach of bail conditions and witness tampering.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Clark was awaiting trial on the 2022 charges, or if he was facing new allegations. Wetherbee said she didn’t know from when or where Clark’s current charges originated.

Sheriff Bill Wright said he doesn’t consider Clark to be a threat to the local public. He believes Clark to be most recently a resident of Massachusetts, and given the amount of time he had to travel before law enforcement was aware of the situation, he is likely far from Laconia.

However, if and when he is encountered, he should not be approached except by law enforcement.

“We need to put out there that he’s dangerous, because people are unpredictable,” Wright said. “People in desperate times and desperate measures, they’re unpredictable. I’ll never say that a person conducting business like this isn’t dangerous.”

Since his flight on Sunday, new warrants have been issued for charges against Clark of escape, criminal mischief and breach of bail conditions.

The press release from the U.S. Marshals Service reported known associates and relatives of Clark’s in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and California. Anyone who aided or continues to aid his evasion of justice could also face charges.

Clark is described as a Hispanic male with brown hair and short brown hair, with tattoos on both forearms and a distinctive emoji-style tattoo on his right hand.

Anyone with information about his location is urged to submit an anonymous tip to 877-WANTED-2, 603-225-1632 or by using the USMS Tips App.