Wrong side of the legal limit

New Hampshire State Police say they managed to track down a wrong-way driver who went north in the southbound lanes of the Everett Turnpike in Nashua early this morning, and then discovered the wayward driver was a repeat drunken driver.

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

State Police say they first began getting telephone calls about the wrong-way driver about 1:30 a.m., and that Trooper Juan Infante located the wrong way vehicle between exits 7 and 8 (Route 101 and Somerset Parkway). The vehicle didn’t immediately stop, but Infante eventually corralled it.

The driver was identified as Mark Ledoux, 47, of Hudson, and police say his blood alcohol content was two and a half times the legal limit.

Ledoux was charged with driving while intoxicated, subsequent offense. He was released on bail, and will be arraigned in July.

He didn’t even get out of the garage.

Ouch.

Lowell Police got a call tonight around 10 p.m., from security in the Leo Roy Garage at 100 Market Street. A guy in a white minivan was driving the wrong way through the garage, according to security.

Officer George Asimoah went in and stopped the guy, whose van is pictured above. Before long the driver, Armando Baez, 45, of Hartford, Conn., was in custody for operating under the influence of alcohol.

He was angry about being arrested, and angrily told Asimoah that he plans to fight the charges.

There was also an arrest downtown at Merrimack and John streets downtown tonight about 8 p.m.

Even though there are literally dozens of cops patrolling downtown, and marked police cruisers everywhere, police accuse Angel Schmidt, 27, who is homeless, of breaking into a car at one of the city’s most heavily-traveled intersections.

He was promptly arrested and charged with breaking and entering motor vehicle, and attempted breaking and entering motor vehicle.

One gunshot, one arrest.

Hudson Police sent out a release tonight to let us know they were called to Central Street Plaza Saturday at 11:52 p.m., after getting a report that someone fired a gunshot.

Witnesses told officers two men fled the lot moments before officers arrived, and that one of them had fired a single gunshot from a handgun.

Officers got information regarding a suspect, and where that suspect was possibly heading, and at 2:06 a.m., they arrested Kenneth Dufresne, 28, of 64 Flint Rock Road, in Hollis, N.H.

No one was hurt.

Dufresne, who is pictured, is charged with a felony count of reckless conduct, and a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance. He couldn’t make his $2,500 cash or surety bail, so he’s spending the weekend at teh Hillborough County House of Correction, in Manchester.

He’ll be arraigned Tuesday in Nashua District Court.

Bathrooms: Not actually that hard to find.

It was not a good weekend in downtown Lowell for fellas who couldn’t keep their zipper up.

Officers working “downtown disorder details,” extra patrols aimed at getting a grip on assaults and disorder downtown during the peak business hours for bars, ended up charging five different guys with indecent exposure over the course of just four hours early Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Here is where I’ll provide you with the list of folks who are accused of needing more potty training, and tell you the story of another guy who walked down Middle Street with his penis exposed even though a cop was right behind him.

Robert Latour, 33, of 9 Puffer Avenue in Lowell kicked things off early Saturday morning about 1:20 a.m., when he allegedly urinated within sight of an officer near the intersection of Merrimack and John Streets. Not exactly a secluded location to convene a meeting with nature.

It took about 25 minutes before Lowell Police allegedly spotted someone else.

Jeffrey Bachelder, 34, of 26 Otsego Avenue, in Lowell, was arrested and accused of urinating on a church. He was taken into custody at 1:46 a.m., after an officer allegedly saw him urinate on a door at St. Joseph the Worker Shrine on Lee Street.

The next arrest didn’t come until early Sunday morning, when Michael Conderman, 20, of Rochester, N.H., allegedly walked down Middle Street with his penis exposed. Police say three girls were walking in front of Conderman, and one of them turned around and noticed the exposure at 12:04 a.m.

A police officer was walking unnoticed behind Conderman at the time. That turned out well.

In addition to an indecent exposure charge, Conderman was also booked for lewd and lascivious behavior and carrying a false liquor id.

He “admitted to having a fake ID that he intended to use at one of the bars downtown,” said Capt. Kelly Richardson.

That’s when history started repeating itself.

It was 12:50 a.m. when police say Steven Leone, 24, of 15 Middlesex Drive, Littleton, took a leak within sight of Capt. Jack Webb, who happened to be in command of the entire police effort downtown. Leone was arrested at 65 Merrimack Street, which is maybe 20 or 30 yards from the intersection with John Street.

The last guy to make the list was Richard Smith, 26, of 98 Nancy Avenue in Dracut. Smith was allegedly seen urinating in a parking lot off Lee Street at 1:22 a.m.

I guess the good news is that no one was hurt.

If this trend continues, I’m going to start requesting mugshots of those booked for doing this.

Best Defense? Good Offense.

A light-skinned Hispanic man in his mid-20′s scored some free gas at the BP gas station at 137 Andover Street in Lowell this afternoon, and all he had to do to get it was stick a knife in an employee’s back.
Police were called to the station about 4:49 p.m. An employee reported that he had been pumping gas a short time earlier when a man walked up behind him and stuck a knife in his back.
The man with the knife demanded cash, but the employee spun around and sprayed the would-be robber with gasoline from the pump.
The suspect then fled with a 48-year-old witness in pursuit. The witness lost sight of the suspect in the area of Pond and Pleasant streets.
To make matters even better, the employee was confident that he was attacked by a man who had been inside the gas station about 20 minutes earlier, asking for change for a $20. When the clerk went to make change, the man said he couldn’t find his 20.
As a result, the description here is pretty detailed.
The suspect is described as a light-skinned Hispanic male, in his mid-20′s, 5’10 to 5’11, with a thin beard. He wore a black and red T-shirt, black shots, and a black and white Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap.
The witness believes he may have seen the suspect get into a burgundy minivan with yellow plates, which could possibly be out-of-state school bus plates, according to police.
Anyone with information is asked to call Lowell police at 978-937-3200, UMass Lowell Police at 978-934-2394 or Crimestoppers at 978-459-TIPS (8477). Information can also be sent to police via Text-a-Tip, by texting TIP411 (847411) with the subject “LPDTIP.”
Tipsters can remain anonymous, but can receive up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.