Name: Police affidavit details Letendre domestic violence incident
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Police affidavit details Letendre domestic violence incident

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Jeff McMenemyView CommentsROLLINSFORD – The wife of a Dover police officer “attempted to jump off a second-story deck” after she was told she was being arrested for allegedly assaulting her husband, according to a police affidavit.The police affidavit filed by Rollinsford Sgt. William Hancock describes what police report happened when they responded to the family’s home late at night on Friday, July 10. The document also contains very different versions of what happened before officers arrived, citing statements from both Sarah Letendre and R.J. Letendre.Sarah Letendre, 34, was charged with assault and other charges in connection with the incident.The incident has created a firestorm on social media among supporters of Sarah Letendre because she alleges she suffered multiple fractured ribs during the incident and her husband, Dover police officer R.J. Letendre, a former mixed martial arts fighter, was not charged. Sarah Letendre’s family has they say proves her ribs were broken. The medical document states she was brought to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital for a “psychological evaluation.”During the July 10 incident, police allege, Sgt. Hancock told Sarah Letendre she was being arrested and then had to wrestle her to the ground after she allegedly tried to jump off the deck, according to the affidavit.Hancock and officer Mitchell Brooks responded to the couple’s home after a report of a domestic disturbance, according to the affidavit.R.J. Letendre told police the couple argued after he “spoke to her about them getting a divorce,” according to the affidavit.She grabbed one of his bags, ran outside and put it behind her car tire, saying she was going to run over it, he told police. She came back inside and saw him on the phone with police, who he said he called for a welfare check on her, according to the affidavit.“He said she ran over to him and attacked him ... she tried to rip the phone from him. He then said he had to physically restrain her and pushed her to the ground,” police said in the affidavit.The phone came out of his hand at one point, and he started calling 911, “which he said upset Sarah further and she began biting his arms and legs,” police said in the affidavit.“He said at this point she was yelling ’help’ and ’rape,’” police said in the affidavit.The incident continued until they were near the bathroom, where Sarah Letendre allegedly “continued to bite him,” police said in the affidavit.“Ronald (R.J. Letendre) said he then put his elbow to her left rib area to prevent her from biting him,” and she stopped, police said in the affidavit.Sarah Letendre told police at the scene “she was having a conversation with Ronald about getting a divorce,” police said in the affidavit. R.J. Letendre then told her she would never see their kids again and that she “needed to leave right away,” she told police, according to the affidavit.She went outside and grabbed some things out of her husband’s backpack, and when she came back in she “found him on the phone calling for an emergency protection order,” police said in the affidavit.“So she jumped for the phone and got into a ‘roll around fight’” with him, according to the police affidavit.“She said that she kept going at the phone. She said the fight lasted for what felt like 10 minutes,” police said in the affidavit. “She said she was just trying to get the phone from (him) … She said that he held her to the ground and had his knee on her neck. She said that he did put his elbow into her ribs.”Brooks saw that R.J. Letendre’s “shirt was ripped open and that he had multiple scratch marks on his chest,” police said in the affidavit.“Officer Brooks did not observe any obvious injuries on Sarah, but noted she was complaining of pain in her left rib area,” police said in the affidavit.Both declined medical attention at that time.“Based on everything they were told and observed, Sgt. Hancock and officer Brooks determined that Sarah was going to be placed under arrest as the primary aggressor,” police said in the affidavit.She was charged with simple assault, obstructing report of a crime and resisting arrest, according to court documents. Police also attempted to arrest her again hours later, following her release, alleging she violated a protection order. She later turned herself in and was released on personal recognizance.She also faces an outstanding charge of criminal mischief in connection with a separate incident in March, according to court documents. Sarah Letendre allegedly damaged the windshield of a vehicle belonging to a man she previously had a relationship with, according to court documents. She was charged in May.One of Sarah Letendre’s attorneys, Timothy Ayer, released a short statement about the case Tuesday.“We are working closely with the prosecution to allow them to have the benefit of Sarah’s recollection of events,” he said in the statement. “That is the appropriate venue for any response to the litany of allegations Sarah’s police officer husband leveled at her. As you are likely aware, the matter is being transitioned from the Strafford County Attorney’s Office to the Merrimack County Attorney’s Office, and that has caused some delay in the progression of the case. However, we have a sincere hope that the transition will not undo all of the progress we had made with County Attorney Velardi.“Given the circumstances, it would be inappropriate to make any extrajudicial comments about the facts at this time,” Ayer added .Sarah Letendre did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Rollinsford Police Chief Robert Ducharme.R.J. Letendre did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday nor to previous requests for comment made through the Dover Police Department.Dover City Manager Michael Joyal has said R.J. Letendre is on paid leave while the Police Department conducts an internal investigation into his conduct.Sarah Letendre in a domestic violence petition filed in court her husband assaulted her on several occasions during the past two-plus years, threatened her and said he would take their two young children away from her.He has not been charged with a crime in connection with her allegations.Sarah Letendre stated in court documents her husband’s “demeanor and threats during arguments have become increasingly aggressive.”“He regularly makes verbally abusive and derogatory statements to me, including in front of our children,” Sarah Letendre stated in a recent court petition. “He threatens to use his status as a police officer to arrest me. He threatens to kick me out of the house, saying that I don’t own the home so he can have the police remove me. He threatens emergency orders against me and to take our children away. Recently those threats are more frequent.”In an emergency motion for sole child custody of their children, which he was granted, R.J. Letendre stated his wife “has been using drugs causing her to be physically and mentally unfit.”He stated in court papers he fears his wife will take their kids “placing them in harm’s way.”If you need helpSeacoast Media Group provides the following information as a public service with no presumption of guilt or innocence in the case referenced above:If you need support, Haven has trained confidential advocates available to aid those affected by domestic and sexual violence. The 24-hour hotline is (603) 994-SAFE (7233). You can also connect to Haven’s confidential, online chat service Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. by clicking the Chat Now button at .View Comments

Jeff McMenemyView CommentsROLLINSFORD – The wife of a Dover police officer “attempted to jump off a second-story deck” after she was told she was being arrested for allegedly assaulting her husband, according to a police affidavit.The police affidavit filed by Rollinsford Sgt. William Hancock describes what police report happened when they responded to the family’s home late at night on Friday, July 10. The document also contains very different versions of what happened before officers arrived, citing statements from both Sarah Letendre and R.J. Letendre.Sarah Letendre, 34, was charged with...

Police affidavit details Letendre domestic violence incident

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