Londonderry News

Nearby South School at the Kendal Pond Road Apartments Londonderry Police received a call reporting suspicious activity last month on Wednesday October 21st.  The caller indicated that a man was in the woods near the apartments at 22 Kendal Pond Road that was watching children outside playing.  The caller reported to police that when he yelled at the man to “get out of the area” he fled on foot.

In his affidavit Londonderry Officer Jason Archambault described his search, “At approximately 6:03pm I found a male subject, matching the description given, walking eastbound on South Road. The subject was walking towards the opposite direction of the Kendall Pond Rd. apartments. I stopped on the side of the road and met with the subject. I identified him as Michael Jones DOB 09/16/84. I asked Jones where he was coming from and he stated he was coming from home. He stated that he lived on Bayberry Lane. I asked him where he was going and he said Crossroads Plaza.”

Mr Jones did not know he was going the wrong direction and when asked if he was in the woods he responded, “I don’t know I was just walking and I walk a lot.”  When told that people were complaining that a man looking like him was in the woods near the apartments and was touching his leg in what appeared to be an inappropriate way he stated that “he wasn’t doing that.”

Jones was then told to stay at the front of Officer Archambault’s cruiser while he talked with two witnesses that pulled up.  They indicated several of them were outside their apartment and “it seemed like Jones was watching the nearby children outside playing. Grimard and Larock also said that they saw Jones rubbing his leg in what seemed like a self gratifying way.”  They continued with more details when Officer Archambault saw Michael Jones start to walk away.

He continued in his report, “I asked Jones if he remembered me telling him to stay at the front of my cruiser and he said he did. I then asked him why he was walking away and he said he had to go to the bathroom. I asked him if he had any medical conditions or took any medications and he stated that he was schizophrenic and took medications for it. I then asked him about whether he was touching himself inappropriately and he said he was not. I told Jones to stay away from the Kendall Pond Rd. apartments. He told me would. With no further evidence of a crime I then allowed Jones to continue walking to his destination.”

Just last Monday November 2nd Officer Archambault spoke with Sgt. Parsons at roll call, the Sargent asked about the case and indicated that Officer Warriner had investigated a similar case of a unknown subject standing in the woods near South School.

After reviewing the field interview by Warriner, Archambault learned that a man, possibly Jones, was watching two children walking to school. The subject alarmed and frightened the children.  The children’s uncle originally saw the man in the woods in October.

Officer Archambault documented a phone call with the uncle in his report, “I asked him about the information he had for me and he told me that both him and Finley saw Jones again after I spoke with him on 10/21/09. I told him that I was aware of that. I asked him if Jones had been caught in the woods again and he said no. He said they saw him walking up Kendall Pond Rd. towards Crossroads Plaza, which had been his destination that night. Larock said that when Finley and him saw Jones they yelled at him to get out of the area.  Jones continued on his way up Kendall Pond Road.”

After a detailed interview of the three witnesses, officer Archambault found that Mr. Jones had returned to the area on the 21st of October after he had been told not to go near the apartments.  When he did one of the witnesses confronted him and asked Jones, “Why he was playing with himself in the woods?” Jones replied “That he likes to play with himself.” at that point the witness told him to “get out of the area.”

The children being observed by Mr. Jones were all under the age of 10 years.  A warrant for the arrest of Michael Jones for the crime of Indecent Exposure and Lewdness was issued Tuesday November 3rd.

Michael Jones was taken into custody without incident just before 8pm Thursday at 90 Bayberry Lane and charged with 4 counts of the reported crime.  He was held on $10,000 cash bail in the Rockingham Jail.

According to Lt. Scott Saunders, “Mr. Jones was arraigned in Derry District Court on Friday, November 6, where he was released on $10,000 personal recognizance bail.”

Principal Linda Boyd in a letter home to South School parents Friday alerted parents to the off school grounds incident and said, “This individual was arrested and was served a “trespass notice” for all school district properties.  This means that he will be arrested should he set foot on any school grounds.  The Police Department and school staff will remain vigilant in protecting the safety of our students.”