Accused deadbeat dad arrested after standoff

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May 9, 2008

By Eric Parry

LONDONDERRY — A 43-year-old man had to be sprayed with pepper spray at his Windsor Boulevard home to end a six hour standoff on Tuesday afternoon.

Richard Berube refused to cooperate with Londonderry police and members of the Southern New Hampshire Special Operations Unit and was found with a gas mask over his face hiding in the attic of his 31 Windsor Avenue home around 6 p.m.

According to court documents, Berube filed for bankruptcy last month and his ex-wife, Leslie Carpenter, is suing him for $18,297 in unpaid child support for their two sons.

Londonderry police Officer Shannon Coyle attempted to serve an arrest warrant around noon for failure to pay child support but Berube refused to open the door. According to a police affidavit, the warrant included a photo so Coyle was able to positively identify Berube.

Coyle spoke with him briefly but he only would identify himself as a worker at the home. He attempted to flee the scene out the back door but Coyle was standing there with a gun pointed at him. He went back inside and remained there until that evening.

During the course of the stand-off, negotiators spoke with Berube but he denied being in the home. He even called the Londonderry Police station on his cell phone, claiming to be in Franconia.

Around 5 p.m., officers let off pepper spray into the house but Berube still wouldn't come out. They eventually knocked down the front door and found him hiding under insulation between the rafters in the attic of the home. He was wearing the mask of his home, possibly to filter the pepper spray or the insulation.

After being booked at the police station, he was taken to Parkland Medical Hospital because he complained of shoulder pain.

While police surrounded the home several neighbors were not allowed near their homes and school busses had to be rerouted away from the area. However, the neighborhood was not evacuated.

He has been charged with resisting arrest in addition to the original warrant for not paying child support.

He was held on $10,000 cash bail plus $18,297 for the original charge.