Man involved in armed robbery in Tilton in 2010 may end up in prison after all

LACONIA — The Belknap County Attorney Office has asked a judge to impose a suspended sentence on a former Franklin man who was convicted of conspiracy to commit armed robbery in Tilton in 2010.

Joel Meads, 33, now of 23 Butler Ave. in Lowell, Mass. is facing a 3 1/2 to 8 year sentence in the N.H. State Prison for threatening an employee of Market Basket with a knife during a robbery that occurred in Tilton on January 15, 2010 at 10:25 p.m.

According to paperwork obtained from the Belknap County Superior Court, following a hearing to amend his sentence, held in 2013, Meads was released on parole on June 27, 2013 under the condition that he lived in a sober-living facility, pay restitution to the victim and completed a drug and alcohol evaluation.

Two years of his sentence was suspended pending his adherence to court's conditions.

Asst. County Attorney Adam Woods motion to impose the suspended sentence alleges that Meads failed to make any restitution payments, that he tested positive for morphine while being supervised by a Massachusetts parole officer, and that he failed to successfully complete his residential program.

In addition, Meads was charged by Nashua Police on November 20, 2013 with one count of theft by unauthorized taking.

According to affidavits filed by police in Hillsborough County Circuit Court and subsequently in Belknap County Superior Court, Meads had taken a job with a company that cleans carpets.

On November 20, 2013 police responded to a Nashua home for a reported theft of jewelry. The owner of the home told police that he had stayed home from work so he could have his carpets cleaned but that he didn't maintain constant supervision of the employee.

He said the emploee, later identified by police as Meads, left his home at 2 p.m. About three hours later, the victim got a call from his assistant saying she had gotten a phone call from a Lowell pawn shop and that someone had tried to pawn a medical school graduation ring that had his name on it.

The pawn shop employee refused to pay for the ring and had refused to return it to the man who was trying to sell it. The pawn shop employee also kept the man's driver's license and told him he was notifying police. Police described him as an acquaintance of Meads.

The pawn shop employee researched the victim's name from the engraving and called his New Hampshire practice to see if the ring was legitimately being sold. After the victim was notified, the victim checked the bedroom and reported his ring and his wife's ruby and diamond bracelet and a string of pearls were also missing.

Nashua police tracked back the man's driving license and he told them that Meads had asked him to pawn the jewelry for him, telling him he would split the money.

The man told Nashua police he accompanied Meads to one pawnshop where they gave him $100 for the bracelet but refused to take the ring. Meads insisted his friend try the pawn shop across the street, the friend told police, and that it was at the second stop that the pawn shop employee confiscated his license and the ring.

The man told Nashua police that when he returned to the car without the ring, the money or his license, Meads allegedly told him to tell police he lost his license. The man also allegedly told police that Meads accused him of lying and refused to split the $100 bracelet money with him.

The victim had an appraisal for $3,650 for the bracelet. He told police his wife's pearl necklace was a gift from her grandmother and he didn't have a value for it.

Nashua police recovered the bracelet. Meads' friend told police he didn't know anything about the pearls.

After police traced the alleged theft back to Meads, they called him for an interview in December of 2013. They say he denied any involvement in the theft and became very nervous when he was asked about his friends. He left the police station.

On March 12, 2014, Nashua Police obtained a warrant for Meads's arrest.

Meads is scheduled to appear Wednesday at 9 a.m. in Belknap County Superior Court for a hearing on the motion to impose the original sentence. Parole Officer Serene Eastman also submitted notice that she would be notifying the N.H. Parole Board regarding his recent arrest.

Meads is being held in the N.H. State Prison according to the online inmate locator.