Crime & Safety
Dozens of New Charges Coming Against Standoff Suspects
A local man and woman have open warrants for impersonating a police officer, fraud, obtaining a controlled drug using a false name, and forging prescriptions.
[Story originally posted at 1:20 p.m. Last updated at 2:05 p.m.]
The Hampton Falls couple who engaged in a lengthy standoff with police Tuesday night remained held on high bail Wednesday as prosecutors worked to confirm and process numerous other warrants for their arrest.
Daren Gragg, 37, and Melissa Amato, 31, were each arraigned in Seabrook District Court Wednesday morning on a felony burglary charge and a misdemeanor resisting arrest charge in connection Tuesday's hours-long standoff at 24 Lafayette Road, Apt. 8.
[Editor's note: Police incorrectly identified Gragg as "Darren Gragg" on Tuesday, and provided incorrect ages for both Gragg and Amato. The information provided above is the correct information, provided by the court system]
While Prosecutor Mandi Werner, who works in the Rockingham County Attorney's Office, said she does "not anticipate any additional charges arising at this time" in connection to the standoff, she said each individual will soon be processed on warrants from agencies throughout the Granite State in addition to facing numerous pending ID, credit card and personal property theft charges.
The warrants include multiple charges for impersonating a police officer, fraud, obtaining a controlled drug using a false name, and forging prescriptions.
Police so far have identified 10 victims of theft, and those incidents have so far been tied to Seabrook, Hampton, Portsmouth and Salem in New Hampshire and Methuen and Amesbury in Massachusetts. The items were recovered by Amesbury police, who have said they expect to file charges in the near future.
Gragg and Amato were taken into custody after surrendering to police at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, ending the standoff. Authorities had been told there were guns in the home, although Werner said none were recovered.
Investigators only found two "replica" guns — BB guns that the suspects had painted black to conceal them — in addition to ammunition for a .45 caliber gun, loaded magazines and a gun cleaning kit, according to Werner. Werner said police believe there were guns in the home based on this evidence, and she said one of the BB guns was found in Amato's purse.
Gragg and Amato were held overnight at the Rockingham County House of Corrections on at least $100,000 cash bail before being having separate video arraignments in Seabrook District Court Wednesday.
During the arraignments, Werner spoke in length about each defendant's lengthy criminal background and their use of several aliases while making her case for high bail.
Werner said Gragg has seven active arrest warrants, six of which were confirmed by her office before the man's arraignment.
Those warrants include a December 2011 warrant for fraud and impersonating a police officer in Manchester, a December 2011 warrant for impersonating a police officer and obtaining a controlled drug using a false name in Derry, a February 2012 warrant for obtaining a controlled drug using a false name in Keene, a Londonderry warrant for impersonating a police officer, a New Hampshire State Police warrant for obtaining a controlled drug using a false name, an electronic bench warrant for failing to appear in court on a driver's license prohibition charge, and an unconfirmed fraud warrant out of Manchester.
Gragg was expected to be processed on at least some of those warrants at the Rockingham County House of Corrections following his arraignment.
Gragg has previously been convicted on a variety of offenses, including felony criminal restraint in 1998, felony bail jumping in 1997, first degree assault in 1997, a Class B misdemeanor for carrying a weapon in 1996, and a Class A misdemeanor theft by deception in 1998, according to Werner.
Gragg has also been tied to alleged gang violence and other alleged crimes.
Werner said Amato has four active warrants, including a December 2011 warrant for three counts of forging prescriptions at the Hudson Walmart, a December 2011 warrant for two counts of obtaining a controlled drug using a false name in Derry, a warrant for failing to appear in court on Department of Motor Vehicles charges, and a New Hampshire State Police warrant for fraud.
Amato was expected to be processed on at least some of those warrants at the Rockingham County House of Corrections following his arraignment.
Werner said Amato has several crimes on her record, and has failed to show for multiple court appearances and hearings in the past.
Gragg pleaded not guilty during his arraignment to his resisting arrest charge after losing a hearing in which he attempted to have media members excluded from his arraignment. Gragg requested media members be removed and not be allowed to record or photograph him so he could hear the charges against him "before the media can distort things the way they do."
Gragg spoke directly with Judge Sharon deVries during his arraignment, and he could be seen yawning multiple times during the proceedings. The state requested that Gragg remain held on $150,000 bail, although deVries set the bail for the burglary charge at $100,000 and the bail for the resisting arrest charge at $10,000.
Amato, who seemed to initially deny in court that she possessed one of the BB guns at the time of her arrest, contended her $100,000 bail for the burglary charge and her $10,000 bail for the resisting arrest charge, stating that they seemed "kind of high."
She also told deVries that she "didn't know about" some of the charges, and that she would like a lower bail so her Manchester-based father could post her release.
"I think as long as I could be around my family I think I'll be fine and I'll be all right," said Amato.
deVries declined to reduce Amato's bail, stating that it's "highly unlikely" Amato would "show up for any hearing date" based on her past behavior. She also said she doubted Amato's father would "come up" with the bail money because Amato admitted it has been "maybe like two years" since Amato had contact of any kind with her family.
Gragg and Amato are both scheduled for separate probable cause hearings in Seabrook District Court at 11 a.m. on Jan. 29.
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