New Hampshire

NH Supreme Court says warrantless search in double murder was unconstitutional

Published

2 months ago

March 18, 2026

NH Supreme Court says warrantless search in double murder was unconstitutional

New Hampshire’s highest court says police acted unconstitutionally in the way they tracked down a man later convicted of a double murder in Concord.

Logan Clegg was sentenced to at least 100 years in prison for the murders of Stephen and Djeswende Reid.

The couple were shot to death on a hiking trail in April of 2022. In October of that year, Concord police found Clegg’s phone number after police in Utah told the department that he had booked a flight to Germany from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Logan Clegg was found guilty of “knowingly and recklessly” causing the deaths of Stephen and Djeswende “Wendy” Reid, among other charges

Without obtaining a warrant, the Concord Police Department used Verizon’s emergency circumstances protocol to ping Clegg’s phone in Burlington, Vermont, where he was taken into custody.

In defending the search, prosecutors argued that there was evidence Clegg planned to leave the country, that he would likely discard the murder weapon before fleeing and that the random nature of the killing meant the suspect evading capture posed a danger to others.

Appealing his conviction, Clegg’s defense argued that the trial court was wrong to find the warrantless search to be acceptable. The New Hampshire Supreme Court agreed with that claim in a ruling on Tuesday.

The court noted that “exigent circumstances” must exist for there to be an exception to the constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure.

The lower court had said the Concord Police Department was “under the impression that a request to Verizon made with a warrant could take days or weeks to process before cell phone location data would be produced.”

The state Supreme Court said that while submitting requests through Verizon’s ordinary search warrant process instead of through its exigency hotline could take longer, “a reasonable officer would have inferred that nothing prevented CPD from requesting data via the exigency hotline while in possession of a warrant.”

“The State has not demonstrated a reasonable basis for believing in the existence of a Verizon policy that would prioritize warrantless requests over those accompanied by a warrant,” the ruling continued. “Furthermore, the CPD lieutenant who made the decision to forgo a warrant conceded that Verizon’s guidelines for law enforcement do not expressly prohibit police from using the exigency hotline if they have a warrant.”

The court also noted that an exception would be based on “the delay caused by obtaining a search
warrant,” not in how long it’s expected for Verizon to respond to it.

“It is unreasonable that any individual’s freedom from governmental intrusion might be curtailed by virtue of how long it may or may not take a third party to respond to a warrant,” the court wrote.

Justices took further issue with the lower court’s acceptance of prosecutors’ argument, pointing out that five months had passed since the killings, with no evidence of Clegg committing other crimes in that time. There was no reason to believe Clegg knew police had his phone number or, if he still had the murder weapon, that he would discard or destroy it before a warrant could be granted, the court said.

The ruling also noted that Clegg’s scheduled flight was not for 56 hours, and that police could have attempted to capture him there.

“From the perspective of a reasonable officer in CPD’s position, there were two likely scenarios: either the defendant would attempt to board the international flight in 56 hours; or he would not appear at the airport, instead remaining at his current unknown location or traveling to another unknown location,” the New Hampshire Supreme Court wrote. “There was not, however, an objective basis to believe that under either scenario a delay of a few hours would risk the defendant’s evading apprehension.”

The ruling does not set Clegg free or even guarantee he receives a new trial. Instead, it directs a lower court to review if the evidence could have been obtained another way. The state Supreme Court can then rule if a new trial is needed.

“On or before June 15, 2026, the trial court shall hold any further proceedings it deems necessary to resolve this issue and report its findings and rulings to this court,” the Supreme Court wrote. “All further processing of this appeal is stayed until the trial court completes its review in accordance with this opinion. Any issues the defendant raised in the notice of appeal but did not brief are deemed waived.”

“We are reviewing the Supreme Court’s decision and will take appropriate action,” the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a statement.

Source link

Click to comment

New Hampshire

Best New Hampshire schools for athletes? According to one study, these are top 25

Published

6 hours ago

May 23, 2026

Press Room

Best New Hampshire schools for athletes? According to one study, these are top 25

New Hampshire has long carried an athletic pedigree in the high school landscape.

Total number of sports: 35

1. Bedford High School

Total number of sports: 34

Source link

New Hampshire

New Hampshire police plan to charge

Published

19 hours ago

May 22, 2026

Press Room

Following the arrest of more than 50 people after a “takeover” at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire during the hot weather on Tuesday, the police chief tells WBZ-TV his department is seeking to charge those who organized the event.

Flyers posted on various social media sites advertised a “Hampton Beach Takeover.” The result was that on Tuesday, thousands of kids, many of them high school seniors skipping school, congregated at Hampton Beach.

When the skies opened and it started rain around 4:30, the group of teens ran onto Ocean Boulevard, where police say that fights broke out. Fifty people were arrested for charges, including alcohol possession and disorderly conduct.

Beach takeovers like this are not uncommon. WBZ-TV has covered several similar situations on Revere Beach in Massachusetts.

Local Hampton business owner Kristen Statires said this has become an annual issue, happening on the first hot weather day of every season since the pandemic.

“And the police know about it, we know about it, so we were expecting it. Like we knew it was going to happen,” she said.

When the kids ran into the street, she closed her shop doors and shut down for the day.

In a phone call with WBZ, Hampton Police Chief Alex Reno said his department already knows the two groups of people behind organizing the beach takeover, and plans to file the appropriate charges.

“It would be an aggressive move on the police’s part, but it would certainly send a message,” said WBZ legal analyst Jennifer Roman.

Reno said his department was continuing to gather evidence and is working with law-enforcement partners across New England and even at the federal level to determine the appropriate charges before issuing arrest warrants. The hope is that charging the organizers creates a deterrent for any future similar behavior.

In:

Source link

New Hampshire

Nashua Man Had Baggies Of Cocaine, Fentanyl, And Meth Inside Coalition Apartment Building, Concord Cops Say

Published

1 day ago

May 22, 2026

Press Room

Nashua Man Had Baggies Of Cocaine, Fentanyl, And Meth Inside Coalition Apartment Building, Concord Cops Say

CONCORD, NH — The fifth person arrested during a drug raid at the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness apartment building downtown is due back in court for a probable cause hearing next month.

Wilkie Gabriel Reyes Reynoso, 27, of Kendrick Street in Nashua, was arrested on May 14 on three felony counts of possession of a controlled drug.

On May 13, just before midnight, police executed a search warrant at an apartment in the Coalition’s new building on South State Street. The warrant was for the apartment and anyone located inside, according to an affidavit.

Also Read

Earlier in the evening, Denise Davenport, 57, who listed the address as her residence despite being trespassed from all Concord Coalition properties, was picked up on an electronic bench warrant as well as two felony counts of acts prohibited-sale of controlled drugs.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department and Concord District Court and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.

Officers arrived at the apartment and detained multiple people.

Reyes Reynoso was accused of possessing a baggie of fentanyl, a baggie of methamphetamine, and two baggies of cocaine. He also had a cell phone vape, a cell phone, and $295 in cash, the affidavit said. Reyes Reynoso was processed and held on preventative detention.

Crystal Marquis Credit: Concord Police Department

Crystal Marquis, 46, of Concord, on a resisting arrest or detention charge.

Brittany Price Credit: Concord Police Department

Brittany Price, 29, of Concord, on a Merrimack County Sheriff’s Department warrant on a theft by unauthorized taking charge, as well as warrants from the Hooksett police, Brentwood District Court, and two Franklin District Court warrants. Another man, in his late 40s, was detained but has not been charged, according to police documents. According to the affidavit, “(he) was searched and nothing was located on his person.”

Reyes Reynoso was deemed “indigent” by Judge Ryan Guptill and given a public defender. He was released on personal recognizance after being arraigned on May 14 and is due back in Concord District Court for a probable cause hearing on June 8.

Source link