Paid of indictments tied to Belmont standoff

LACONIA — The man and woman who held police at bay for more nearly six hours in early September have both been indicted by a Belknap County grand jury for their respective roles in the Belmont standoff.

Christopher M. Kelly, 34, who is incarcerated in the New Hampshire State Prison, is charged with criminal restraint because he allegedly forced a three-year old to remain inside the barricaded home while his female accomplice, Diamond Morrill, 21, allegedly fired a gun.

He is also charged with resisting arrest.

Morrill of 23 Liscomb Circle in Gilford was charged with three felony counts of reckless conduct for allegedly firing a gun three times inside the house.

An indictment is not a find of guilt but is a finding by a group of randomly selected jurors that the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence to justify a trial.

Bullets from the gun narrowly missed hitting Laconia Police Sgt. Richard Simmons, Belknap County Sheriff Dave Perkins, and Belmont Police Officer Joel Pickowicz , all members of the Belknap County Special Operation Group that had surrounded the house at 672 Union Road in an effort to get the two to bring out the child and surrender.

The overnight standoff began when U.S. Marshals working a Joint Fugitive Task Force learned Kelly had been living in Belmont. Working with BRSOG, the Marshals surrounded the home in an effort to get him into custody.

The woman who was the primary tenant at the home surrendered immediately but her daughter was left inside with Morrill and Perkins.

Around 6:30 a.m. Perkins, holding the child who was wrapped in a blanket, gave up to police who made entry into the house and arrested Morrill.