Officer Fired And Charged For Taking Drugs Seized For Evidence

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Dover officer R.J. Letendre charged with taking drugs police seized for evidence

DOVER – A former Dover police officer has been indicted for allegedly removing a portion of seized drugs before they were entered into evidence, according to Strafford County Attorney Thomas Velardi.

A Strafford County grand jury indicted Ronald “R.J.” Letendre, 47, of Rolinsford, on a felony charge of falsifying physical evidence.

Velardi said the charge is a Class B felony with a maximum penalty of 3-1/2 to 7 years in state prison.

The indictment returned by the grand jury states Letendre, on Sept. 16, 2016 investigated the delivery of controlled drugs to 21 Oak Hill Drive in Dover.

“In the course of that investigation he did remove a portion of the seized controlled drugs before entering the seized controlled drugs into evidence at the Dover Police Department,” according to the indictment.  Letendre’s actions occurred “when, believing that an official investigation is pending, he removed any thing with a purpose to impair its verity or availability in such investigation,” according to the indictment.  Velardi described the crime Letendre has been charged with as a “crime against the community or a public corruption crime.”

“Unfortunately it’s not the first time this office, myself in particular, have charged officers or former officers with misdemeanor or felony crimes,” Velardi said Monday.“Based on the investigation we do know the amount of drugs that went missing,” Velardi said, but he declined to provide further details.

A portion of the drugs Letendre is charged with taking include “THC-infused Jolly Rancher candies,” Velardi said.  THC is the “mind-altering chemical” found in marijuana plants, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Letendre will likely be arraigned sometime in early November, Velardi said.  Before then, Letendre will receive a “formal notice to appear” because of the indictment, Velardi said.

“Bail will be required and he will have to self surrender to the Dover police,” Velardi said. He noted this arrangement is “not unique to Mr. Letendre’s case. It’s called a direct indictment.”

Veldari’s office launched the investigation in September after Dover police conducted an internal investigation into Letendre’s conduct.

Police Chief William Breault announced at the time he terminated Letendre “due to multiple violations of departmental policy.”

The police chief has not released any details about the internal investigation and what those alleged violations were.

Police launched the investigation after Sarah Letendre, 35, received an outpouring of support on social media following a domestic incident between her and her estranged husband at their Rollinsford home July 10. Rollinsford police arrested Sarah Letendre at the time and charged her with simple assault and other charges.

Those charges have since been dropped.

Sarah Letendre and her family have said R.J. Letendre, who is a former mixed martial arts fighter, was the aggressor in the incident, during which she suffered multiple fractured ribs. He has not been charged in connection with the incident.

Velardi received information from the Dover police about Letendre, which led to him launching a separate investigation.  That investigation led to the former police officer’s indictment.

“In the course of running through all the different facts and information, we also followed up on this different set of facts which did not involve the domestic violence incident,” Velardi said. “We felt compelled to present that to the Stratford County grand jury and they returned a true bill.”

Velardi and Dover police presented the case to the grand jury on Thursday.  Velardi credited Dover police for sharing what they found with his office.

“This frankly is a symbol of how Dover police dedicated themselves to following our leads to where they had to be followed,” he said.  Letendre’s attorney, Katherine Phinney, could not be immediately reached for comment Monday.

Dover won't release investigation into fired officer

The news comes about two weeks after Wyatt said he would release the 49-page summary Nov. 23 in response to Right to Know requests filed by Seacoast Media Group and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire.

Wyatt said he received a copy of a motion filed by Letendre’s defense attorney “to delay the release and seal it until the end of the criminal matter.” Letendre is facing a felony indictment.

Wyatt confirmed as of Monday morning he had not received a court order prohibiting him from releasing the summary.

“As an officer of the court and out of respect to his (Letendre’s) rights …I owe them the duty to at least have the court look at this before we take any action,” Wyatt said Monday morning.

DOVER – City Attorney Joshua Wyatt decided Monday not to release the summary of the Police Department’s internal investigation into the conduct of former officer Ronald “R.J.” Letendre.

A court spokesman said the motion had been filed but is under seal.

Police launched the internal investigation after Sarah Letendre, 35, received an outpouring of support on social media following a domestic incident between her and her estranged husband at their Rollinsford home July 10.

Rollinsford police arrested Sarah Letendre at the time, charging her with simple assault and other charges. The charges have since been dropped.

Sarah Letendre and her family have said R.J. Letendre, a former mixed martial arts fighter, was the aggressor in the incident, when she suffered multiple fractured ribs.

Dover Police Chief William Breault terminated Letendre “due to multiple violations of departmental policy” following the police department’s internal investigation into Letendre’s conduct.

A Strafford County grand jury indicted Letendre, 47, of Rollinsford, in October on a felony charge of falsifying physical evidence after launching a separate investigation following Dover’s internal police investigation.

The maximum penalty if Letendre is convicted is 3½ to 7 years in state prison, according to Strafford County Attorney Thomas Velardi.

Letendre was indicted for allegedly removing a portion of seized drugs before they were entered into evidence, according to Velardi.

The indictment returned by the grand jury states Letendre, on Sept. 16, 2016, investigated the delivery of controlled drugs to 21 Oak Hill Drive in Dover.

“In the course of that investigation he did remove a portion of the seized controlled drugs before entering the seized controlled drugs into evidence at the Dover Police Department,” according to the indictment.

Gilles Bissonnette, the legal director of the ACLU of New Hampshire, declined to comment on Wyatt’s decision Monday.

But the ACLU of New Hampshire filed paperwork in Strafford County Superior Court seeking to get a copy of Letendre’s motion under an “attorney’s eyes only” protective order.

NH ACLU stated in the court paperwork that they intend to file a motion objecting to the delay in the release of the investigative summary.

“Petitioner objects to Petitioner’s counsel not being provided a copy of the 'Motion to Delay Release of Report,' as Petitioner’s counsel needs to review the motion so it can provide a full and meaningful response and so this Court can reach a decision through the adversarial process,” Bissonnette stated in court papers filed Monday.

He also stated that the “court will also need to evaluate whether sealing of this motion is appropriate” under the state’s Superior Court rules.

“The general rule is that all pleadings, attachment to pleadings, exhibits submitted at hearings or trials, and other docket entries … shall be available for public inspection,’” Bissonnette said.

The ACLU did not object to Dover’s decision delaying disclosure of the document, Bissonnette said, “until this court has had an opportunity to fully consider the Motion and Petitioner’s objection in due course.”

“In any event, (Letendre) is presumably arguing that disclosure of this information will impede a fair trial,” Bissonnette said in court documents. “To the extent the information to be disclosed presents information that is not already public, any concern about prejudice can be addressed through voir dire, and not at the expense of the public’s right to know.”

He previously said “the public has a clear right to know this information.”

“In this historic moment, there is a demand for immediate transparency concerning police misconduct,” he said previously. “As courts have repeatedly held, there is obviously a compelling public interest in disclosure where the records pertain to police misconduct. Officers also have a minimal privacy interest with respect to actions pertaining to their official duties."

The ACLU is looking forward “to receiving this information so the residents of Dover can know what their government is up to,” Bissonnette said.

An external review of the police investigation recently stated that police identified “an additional five allegations” against Letendre.

They included “additional incidents of physical altercations, the improper use of his Taser while off-duty, smoking marijuana, theft of evidence and evidence improperly stored in his locker,” attorney Eric Daigle said in his outside review of the police investigation.

In a letter to the ACLU on Monday, Wyatt stated, “I am writing to notify you that the city of Dover will refrain from providing (the) report to you at this time, pending further order or ruling of the Superior Court.”