Concord Man Flees from Police

A local man was arrested and arraigned last month on a number of charges including theft and resisting arrest or detention. Nathan C. Bell, 21, of Concord, was arrested at 6 p.m. on March 4, 2014, and charged with resisting arrest and detention and bench warrants. According to a Concord Police arrest report and court affidavits, an officer was on patrol on Loudon Road near the KFC when he spotted Bell and knew he had active warrants. Bell had just walked out of a side entrance to an apartment on Loudon Road and when he saw the officer, allegedly reversed direction and headed east on Loudon Road.

Editor’s Note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department and Concord District Court. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

The officer drove by Bell as he stopped on the crosswalk, attempting to get a walk signal to cross the street. The officer parked the cruiser and walked towards Bell.

“I told Bell to stop and that I wanted to talk to him,” the officer reported. “Bell ran out into Loudon Rd in front of a pickup truck that need to stop short.”

Bell allegedly ran behind the KFC while the officer pursued him and radioed for backup.

A sergeant radioed that he saw someone run into the Concord Gardens parking lot and later, captured Bell. He was held on $12,000 cash bail.

Thefts in February

On Feb. 14, an officer was sent to the Shaw’s on D’Amante Drive for a theft call. According to a store employee, a man took merchandise from the store and ran behind the Starbucks. Dispatch later reported a suspicious man at the Starbucks, so another officer was sent there.

The employee at Shaw’s alleged the man was being watched on surveillance and at one point, had two cans of Twisted Tea in his hand. Then, the cans disappeared, and the employee believed the cans were stolen. The man then left the store without purchasing anything. When confronted outside, the man allegedly said, “I don’t have the drinks,” while fleeing from the scene. At that time, the employee alleged that an empty Beef Jerky wrapper fell out of his backpack. The two cans of Twisted Tea were found to be missing from a shelf.

The officer looked at the video and “immediately identified the subject as Nathan Bell,” according to the report. He alleged that Bell was at the customer service desk attempting to cash lottery tickets and then walked to the shopping area of the store.

The officer at the Starbucks spoke to witnesses who reported that Bell went inside the men’s bathroom with a backpack and then left in a rush, without his jacket, hat, or backpack. The backpack was later found in the trash, along with a pile of clothes with sales tags attached from Bon Ton.

The officer went over to Bon Ton with the clothes and spoke to employees there and confirmed that the clothes were from the store. The employee recognized a picture of Bell from the Shaw’s security and alleged he was in the store earlier in the evening. The value of the clothes in the backpack was $551.

On Feb. 15, and Feb. 20, warrants were sworn out for Bell’s arrest.

Previous theft convictions

According to court documents, Bell had been convicted of receiving stolen property, theft by deception, and theft by unauthorized taking-attempt in August 2012, so the charge was elevated to a felony.