Follow-Up: Felon Fugitives Found In New Hampshire, According To Corrections Department

CONCORD, NH — Two New Hampshire Department of Corrections fugitives of the week have been caught and are being held in jail, according to officials.

Adam Charles Cummings, 47, was featured in July 2025, accused of a probation violation for noncompliance in June 2022. According to corrections, on March 12, Campton police had information that he was en route to the Campton-Thornton area.

“Both the Campton Police Department and the Thornton Police Department coordinated a traffic stop. Cummings was taken into custody without incident,” corrections said, “and a firearm was in the glove box, directly in front of the passenger seat where he was sitting.”

Cummings was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is being held at the Grafton County House of Corrections.

Leland Petersen was featured earlier this month.

According to corrections, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department received a tip from Goffstown police he was spotted walking on Mast Road on March 18. Two deputies went to Mast Road and, with help from Goffstown police, made contact with Petersen, confirmed his identity, and placed him in custody. He was taken to the county jail.

“The Department of Corrections would like to thank the Campton, Thornton, and Goffstown Police Departments,” officials said, “as well as the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in apprehending these fugitives.”

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

According to superior court records, Petersen was charged with felony criminal mischief after an incident in Manchester in 2008. The charge was later nolle prossed.

In Manchester in October 2020, Petersen was charged with strangulation, threat, domestic violence, false imprisonment, stalking, and obstruction charges. In June 2021, he pleaded guilty to stalking-domestic violence and second-degree assault-domestic violence-strangulation charges. Petersen received a one-to-three-year and 12-month prison sentences, all suspended for five years, with $100 in fees and 29 days of time served credit. A show-cause hearing was held in February 2023, and a status conference was held in April 2023 on the fines. A court order was issued for payment of the fines later.

Petersen was accused of stalking-domestic violence in October and December 2022. He pleaded guilty to both charges in April 2023 and received two one- to three-year prison sentences — one suspended for four years and the other for five years. He was also fined $100.

Cummings’ criminal history dates back more than two decades, according to superior court records.

Cummings was accused of assault, criminal threatening, and false imprisonment in Holderness after an incident in July 2002. All three charges were remanded in May 2003, just before a jury trial was set to start.

In September 2006, Cummings was accused of being a habitual offender and disobeying an officer in Plymouth. He pleaded guilty to the charges in November 2007 and received a 12-month sentence, all but 10 days suspended for three years.

Cummings was charged with robbery out of Plymouth in April 2009, and a probation violation charge was also issued, connected to the habitual offender case. The robbery charge was dismissed a few months later, and after a probation hearing, the habitual offender sentence was amended to two and a half to five years in prison, with 480 days of pretrial credit.

Two more habitual offender charges after an incident in February 2018 in Plymouth were issued against Cummings. He was also accused of drug possession in Wentworth in May 2018, fentanyl possession and resisting arrest in Groton in November 2018, and acts prohibited in April 2019 in Plymouth. One habitual offender count was dismissed without prejudice in June 2018. Cummings then pleaded guilty to the second habitual offender charge in January 2020 and received a sentence of two and a half to five years, suspended for five years with four years of probation, along with 99 days of time served credit. He also pleaded guilty to the drug charges, receiving multiple suspended sentences.

In July 2022, Cummings was accused of possessing drugs again. He was arraigned on the charge, based out of Plymouth, in 2023. However, Cummings failed to appear at a final pretrial hearing in October 2023 and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

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