Mass. man held after firing gun near kids

By MICHAEL MORTENSEN, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — A Massachusetts man with a record of several felony convictions is being held in the Belknap County Corrections facility on charges stemming from an altercation in Meredith which climaxed with a gun being fired near young children.

Brian D. Berube, 27, of 49 Mystic St., Methuen, Massachusetts, is being held in lieu of $10,000 cash or $50,000 corporate surety bail, after being arrested for reckless conduct, being a felon in possession of a dangerous weapon, and simple assault.

According to a police affidavit filed in Belknap County Superior Court, two men were sent to 62 Pleasant St., in Meredith, to "take custody" of two minor girls — the children of the sister of one of the men — so the woman could take Berube — her boyfriend — back to Massachusetts.

As the two girls were being belted into the vehicle, Berube came into the parking lot and got into an argument with one of the men, and allegedly punched the man in the nose. The other man attempted to break up the struggle, along with three building maintenance workers who were in the parking lot at the time. During the scuffle, the affidavit states, Berube pulled a handgun out of his pants pocket and fired a round.

The woman, according to the affidavit, told authorities that "she had the gun" and it fell from her pocket and discharged on its own and that she then put the weapon — a semi-automatic pistol — under the driver's seat of her vehicle.

According to the affidavit, Berube has been convicted of five felonies since 2010 — criminal mischief, reckless conduct, receiving stolen property, and two separate incidents of assault by a prisoner.