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New Hampshire
Windham Man Indicted On Strangulation Charge: Superior Court Roundup
BRENTWOOD, NH — A Rockingham County grand jury indicted the following people recently.
Francine Annesse Allen, 59, of Cove Road in Salem on a felony theft by unauthorized taking charge. She was accused of stealing merchandise from Walmart in Salem on Feb. 20 after being convicted on theft charges twice before.
Virgilio Ceballo Arias, 22, of Brookfield Street in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on receiving stolen property, concealing the identity of a vehicle, and two possession of altered, forged, or counterfeited title charges, all felonies. In Salem, on March 20, he agreed with Estuary Lanfranco, E.G., and Xaviel Rodriguez Torres to knowingly retain a stolen 2022 Honda CR-V, possessed a 2023 Acura TLX with a VIN removed, and possessed altered titles from New Jersey with the name of another person who did not own the vehicles listed, according to the indictments.
Daniel Joseph Banks, 54, of Milton Road in Rochester on three felony attempted falsifying physical evidence charges. He was accused of attempting to delete his LandAirSea GPS account on June 5, June 8, and June 9, 2023, in Portsmouth to impair an investigation.
Dannie K. Barrett, 54, of Middle Street in Portsmouth on three felony arson-pecuniary loss more than $1,000 charges. He was accused of starting dumpster fires on Jan. 25, Feb. 4, and Feb. 17 on Middle Street in Portsmouth, damaging property owned by Waste Management.
Melissa Ann Boucher, 35, of Myrtle Street in Manchester on bail jumping and two driving while being certified as a habitual offender committed while on release charges, all felonies, as well as a disobeying an officer charge. She was accused of providing a false name to a Salem police officer on March 12 and driving on Pelham Road. Boucher was also accused of driving in the North Broadway Crossing Plaza in Salem parking lot on March 4. On April 11, she failed to appear in Salem District Court, leading to the bail jumping charge.
Rebecca Christine Brown, 25, of Asbury Street in South Hamilton, MA, on possession of MDMA and possession of ketamine, both felonies, as well as driving under the influence on Interstate 95 in Hampton Falls on Jan. 25.
Rachel Marie Burlington, 35, of Marsh Lane in Hampton Falls on a felony count of unauthorized use of a propelled vehicle or rented property. She was accused of exercising unauthorized control over a 2021 Nissan Versa, owned by National Rental, between May 8 and June 2, 2021, in Londonderry.
Edwin Zayas Correa, 31, of West Lowell Avenue in Haverhill, MA, on possession of oxycodone and possession of fentanyl, both felonies, as well as driving under the influence and operating without a valid license charges. He was accused of driving on Interstate 93 in Londonderry while under the influence and possessing drugs on Jan. 30.
Do you have a news tip? Please email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella’s YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. Follow the NH politics Twitter account @NHPatchPolitics for all our campaign coverage.
What employers are getting wrong, and how to fix it before it becomes a claim
New Hampshire’s employment law landscape heading into 2026 may not be dramatically different from last year, but the real risks lie in implementation missteps. From the initial setting of wages, to calculating and distributing wages, employers will likely find a specific statute and/or labor regulation governing the transaction. Failure to follow these detailed wage and hour laws can result in significant back wages and other penalties being imposed by the state or federal Department of Labor following an audit. Fortunately, however, this area of employment law is relatively easy to master, once you are familiar with the basics.
Notice compliance
One of the most common pitfalls for employers in New Hampshire is misunderstanding the wage and hour notice requirements under RSA 275 and the related New Hampshire Department of Labor Administrative Rules.
At the time of hire, employers must notify employees in writing of their rate of pay and the day and place of payment. This notice is traditionally delivered to employees by way of an offer letter or some sort of “New Hire Rate of Pay” form. (A sample form is available from the New Hampshire Department of Labor website.) What surprises most employers, however, is that Lab. 803.03(f)(6) also requires employers to request and obtain their employees’ signatures on this written notification of wages, and employers must keep a copy of the signed written notification of wages on file. Further, employers must notify employees in writing during the course of employment of any changes to wages or day of pay prior to such changes taking effect, and the employer must obtain the employee’s signature on this subsequent notification as well. (See RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)
Employers are further required to notify employees in writing, or through a posted notice maintained in a place accessible to employees, of:
• employment practices and policies with regard to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits.
• deductions made from the employee’s payroll check, for each period such deductions are made.
• information regarding the deductions allowed from wage payments under state law. (RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)
Policies regarding vacation and sick leave should inform employees whether or not the employer will “cash out” unused time at year end or at the end of employment, and if so, under what terms. Again, if any changes are made to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits during the course of employment (all of which are considered “wages” under New Hampshire law), employers must request and obtain their employees’ signatures on the written notification of the change, and must keep a copy of the signed form on file. (Lab. 803.03.) Importantly, notification by way of pay stub alone is not sufficient, and, these requirements apply to both increases and decreases in pay.
Two-hour minimum (reporting pay)
Another frequently overlooked obligation is New Hampshire’s two-hour minimum reporting pay requirement. Under RSA 275:43-a, non-exempt employees who report to work but are sent home early must generally be paid for at least two hours. Weather-related closures, client cancellations or operational slowdown days can trigger this rule. Employers should also note that the New Hampshire Department of Labor currently applies this law to remote-based employees. Consequently, employees who “report to work” at an employer’s request from a home office may likewise have a right to two hours of pay, depending on the circumstances.
Salaried vs. hourly employees
Misclassification of employees as exempt from overtime remains a significant source of compliance exposure. The position’s job duties — not the titles or label such as “salaried” — determine whether an employee qualifies for an overtime exemption.
Employers, particularly in nonprofits, health care and small businesses, unintentionally misapply exempt classifications to roles such as administrative staff, office managers, executive assistants, program coordinators or hybrid jobs that involve significant non-exempt tasks. Over time, as organizational needs evolve and employees take on broader responsibilities, job duties can drift outside of an exemption’s scope.
Best practice is to periodically review job descriptions and actual job duties to ensure continued compliance with exemption criteria, particularly following any significant restructuring or job redesigns.
Peg O’Brien is chair of McLane Middleton’s Employment Law Practice Group. She can be reached at margaret.o’brien@mclane.com.
Local News
“Our family wants to know what happened, who did this and why,” said the family of the victim.
A new photo has been released of the victim in a nearly 30-year-long unsolved murder case, in the hope of finding any new potential witnesses in the cold case, New Hampshire officials said.
“Our family wants to know what happened, who did this and why,” the family of Rosalie Miller said in a press release. “We miss her and want to give her peace.”
Miller was last seen on December 8, 1996 at her apartment in Manchester. At the time of her disappearance, Miller had plans on meeting friends in the Auburn, New Hampshire area, officials said.
Her body was found on January 20, 1997 in a partially wooded spot on a residential lot along the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn, officials said in the release.
The autopsy report declared Miller’s death a homicide by asphyxiation due to ligature strangulation, N.H. officials wrote.
As part of a new effort to garner public help with the case, an “uncirculated” photo of Miller, 36, is being distributed “in hopes it may jog the memory of someone who saw or spoke with her in the winter of 1996,” Attorney General John M. Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Mark B. Hall announced on behalf of the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit in a joint press release.
Investigators are especially hoping to talk to anyone who was in contact with Miller in December of 1996 or anyone “who may have seen her in the vicinity of the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn during that time,” officials said in the release.
“We are releasing this new photograph today because we believe someone out there has information, perhaps a detail they thought was insignificant at the time, that could be the key to solving this case and bringing justice for Rosalie and those who loved her,” Senior Assistant Attorney General R. Christopher Knowles, New Hampshire Cold Case Unit Chief said in the release.
The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit encourages anyone with any amount of information to contact the group at [email protected] or (603) 271-2663.
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