There are hundreds of outstanding warrants issued by the Salem, N.H., Police Department, some dating back as far as 30 years. Police want them resolved.
Since dispatcher and part-time Officer Scott Deschene started to tackle the task more than two years ago, he's narrowed the list from about 2,000 outstanding warrants to less than 400.
To begin, there were 1,200 court-issued warrants, those were sent back to district court, Deschene said. Starting alphabetically with the letter A, he started calling names on the remaining list of 800.
"One hundred four people turned themselves in, just on a phone call," he said. "Some said they had no idea; some had forgotten. They don't want it hanging over them the rest of their life."
The list has been narrowed down to 286 misdemeanors and 108 felonies on a wide array of charges. Some of the most common charges include shoplifting, theft and issuing bad checks. They date back as far as the 1970s and 1980s and, in some cases, the victims are now deceased or the business receiving the bad check has been closed for years, Deschene said.
In many cases, the charges likely would be dismissed, police Capt. Shawn Patten said.
"There are types of cases we would like to (not prosecute)," he said. "But we have to go through the standard judicial process to do that."
The Salem Police Department makes about 3,000 arrests per year, and 70 percent of those arrested are from out of state.
In serious cases, individuals with outstanding warrants who live in another state can be extradited, but people with lesser charges have dodged answering allegations simply by avoiding New Hampshire law enforcement.
"Most of these people are a few miles down the road in Methuen and Lawrence," Deschene said. "We just can't grab them."
Since 2000, warrants in Salem have been entered into the state's police computer system. For those warrants, a simple traffic stop in New Hampshire can lead to an arrest. A total of 210 outstanding warrants from before 2000 currently aren't in the state system. But that's going to change — they will be added as soon as this week, Deschene said.
"If they run a red light while they are shopping on (Route) 28 and get stopped, they are going to get arrested," he said.
Those who contact Salem police and turn themselves in voluntarily will be treated with some leniency, police said. Regardless of the crime alleged in the outstanding warrant, people who come in of their own free will be required to pay a $40 bail commissioner fee and issued a court summons, Patten said.
"The ultimate goal is to get these people into court," Patten said. "All of these cases are unresolved and we want to bring them to a successful conclusion, whether it be dismissing the case or bringing it to trial."
Those with an outstanding warrant who wish to get it resolved should e-mail Officer Scott Deschene at sdeschene@salempd.com, or call the Salem Police Department at 893-1911. For a complete list of outstanding Salem police warrants, visit eagletribune.com.
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Note: The following is list of people who have outstanding felony arrest warrants issued by the Salem Police Department. A warrant is a directive for law enforcement to bring a person to court. It is not an indication of guilt.
Felony warrants
Haverhill
Chartier, Raymond, 53, Forgery
Dempsey, Timothy, 37, Aggravated DWI
Esposito, Regina, 41, Theft
Farhadian, Gary, 54, Receiving stolen property
Hannigan, Sandra, 47, Bad checks
Lampocelli, Frank, 37, First degree assault
Matthews, Michael, 39, Second degree assault
Roeger, John, 57, Bad checks
Silva, Timothy, 47, Bad checks
Smith. Ernest, 47, Forgery
Lawrence
Cordova, Marangely, 31, Theft
Flores, Richard, 32, Witness tampering
Fongeallaz, Dennis, 50, Forgery
Gravel, Joseph, 47, Theft
Hernandez, Jose, 44, Escape
Maitland, Kevin, 40, Forgery
Martinez, Santiago, 40, Bad checks
Martinez, Jose, 62, Theft by unauthorized taking
Mitcheltree, Laura, 67, Bad checks
Neve, Anthony, 56, theft
Perez, Nelson, 45, Accessory to robbery
Roman, Valerie, 34, Credit card fraud
Methuen
Arzala, Carlos, 41, Robbery
Dones, Josephine, 43, Theft
Gutierrez, Isabelina, 34, Accessory to theft
Hayek, George, 40, ID fraud
Healey, Patricia, 46, Bad checks
Rivas, Marrien, 31, Theft
Rivera, Robert, 30, Theft
Rust, Marshall, 58, Bad checks
Van Huten, Gayle, 60, Bad checks
Other Massachusetts towns
Baker, Barbie, 61, Lynn, Theft
Brooks, Debbie, 54, Revere, Forgery
Bunnell, Stephen, 56, Malden, Theft
Burbine, Brian 49, Medford, Bad checks
Castro, Reinaldo, 32, Lowell, Receiving stolen property
Dipanfilo, Richard, 38, Billerica, Receiving stolen property
Doane, Melissa, 36, Lynn, Credit card fraud
Falcone, Regina, 33, Chelsea, Bad checks
Giallongo, Cynthia, 56, Melrose, Forgery
Giannelli, Robert, 48, Burlington, Bad checks
Gravelle, Joline, 44, Lowell, Bad checks
Higgins, Mary Gayle, 50, Lowell, Bad checks
Hopkins, Gary, 52, Acton, Bad checks
Hussey, Stacey, 46, Boston, Theft
Jangira, Henry, 55, Fitchburg, Bad checks
Josserand, Jesse, 57, Burlington, Bad checks
Kelley, Thomas, 47, Cambridge, Bad checks
Lamoureux, Bernard, 53, Worcester, Armed robbery
Lavoie, Michael, 45, Salem, Armed robbery
Mallia, John Jr., 46, Beverly, Shoplifting
Markarian, Joanna, 47, Everett, Forgery
Mitchell, Donald, 43, Boston, Receiving stolen property
Mitchell, Javone, 34, Dorchester, Theft
Mora, Rafael, 65, Lynn, Forgery
Muhammed, Sheila, 47, Dorchester, Bad checks
Okeahialm, Majella, 50, Boston, Bad checks
Perrotta, Angelo, 66, Woburn, Bad checks
Peters, Michael, 54, Lowell, Theft
Sabreira, Edward, 54, Cambridge, Bad checks
Silva, Ilson, 55, Somerville, Bad checks
Sparks, Robert, 67, Revere, Bail jumping
Sparks, Robert Allen, 47, Saugus, Accessory to armed robbery
Stewart, James, 62, Boston, Accessory to shoplifting
Sullivan, Mary, 52, Dracut, Bad checks
Taylor, Paul, 50, Revere, Theft
Teixeira, Alzemar Brasil, 53, Malden, Bad checks
Torres, Jaimes, 45, North Andover, Bad checks
Veino, Edward, 59, Medford, Theft
Verma, Rohan, 33, Lowell, Forgery
Zinser, Lawrence, 52, Chelmsford, Criminal threatening
New Hampshire and other states (Warrants for those residing in local N.H. towns have been resolved. Specific contact information for those listed as living in New Hampshire below is not known.)
Aikman, Paul, 65, Ohio, Bad checks
Bailey, Hugh, 67, Kentucky, Theft
Bradley, James, 52, New Hampshire, Theft
Brunelle, Charles Jr., 54, Florida, Fraud
Canning, Arthur, 52, New Hampshire, Bad checks
Chapman, Jack, 52, New Hampshire, Bad checks
Cloyd, Glen, 61, New Hampshire, Bad checks
Delosh, Robert, 56, New Hampshire, Bad checks
Demulla, James, 48, New Hampshire, Forgery
Hubbard, Marie Louise, 39, New Hampshire, Forgery
Hunter, Robert, 48, Tennessee, Bad checks
Johnson, Michael, 52, New Hampshire, Forgery
Kelleher-Inman, Sarah, 49, New Hampshire, Forgery
Kirwan, Dennis, 50, New Hampshire, Theft
Lafond, Brent, 42, New Hampshire, Burglary
Lumbert, Thomas, 49, New Hampshire, Bad checks
McDougall, Scott, 36, New Hampshire, Theft
Moore, Gail, 49, Vermont, Theft
Peterson, John, 43, New Hampshire, Receiving stolen property
Rezendes, Carol, 63, Maine, Bad checks
Rosa, Gilberto Bruno, 37, New Hampshire, Improper influence
Skavon, Robert, 57, Rhode Island, Theft
Stancu, Anne, 31, Florida, Theft
Stefanilo, Niealina, 42, Florida, Theft
Stewart, Ruth, 49, New Hampshire, Bad checks
Stromme, Bruce, 53, Wisconsin, Bad checks
Terelli, Anthony, 50, Rhode Island, Forgery
Vento, Joseph, 55, South Carolina, Theft
