Two women and a man who were involved in an October riot in Hillsborough that ended with local officers being injured were indicted on an additional felony-level charge each.
Heather Page, Paul Sousa, Jessie Carter, Nicholas Mercier, and Christopher Dellacioppa were all involved in a riot that broke out on Oct. 22, according to court documents.
Heather Page, 24, faces the riot charge after she allegedly blinded police officers with a flashlight, or a similar device, during the incident. Officer Mark McSweeney suffered a physical injury, according to court documents. The riot charge is listed as a class B felony, which carries a sentence of three and a half to seven years in prison and a $4,000 fine.
Paul Sousa, 26, was also indicted on an additional riot charge after he allegedly shouted at officers and blocked officer McSweeney’s police cruiser with a board, kicked Greenfield Police Chief Brian Giammarino’s cruiser, and resisted arrest during that same night in October. The charge is a class B felony and carries a three and a half to seven-year prison sentence and a $4,000 fine if convicted.
Jessie Carter, 23, was indicted on a riot charge after he allegedly shouted at officers, jumped on Giammarino’s back, kicked another officer in the groin, and resisted arrest, according to court documents.
The charges are additions to indictments that were made public in February.
Page, who lives in Hillsborough, was indicted in court in February on the same charge for allegedly blinding officers with a flashlight. The indictment from February reads that Page blinded officers McSweeney and Greenfield’s Police Chief Brian Giammarino with a flashlight or a similar device. Court documents read that officer Giammarino suffered an injury to his groin as a result of the conduct.
Page also faces a hindering apprehension/ prosecution charge, a class A misdemeanor, according to a case summary filed in Hillsborough Superior Court North.
Page had a status conference on April 19, according to the case summary. A final pre-trial date has been scheduled for September 13, and jury selection for September 24.
Sousa, who lives in Weare, faces an additional criminal mischief and riot charge, which are both listed as felonies. He’s also been charged with resisting arrest/ detention, disorderly conduct, and criminal mischief, which are all misdemeanor charges, according to a superior court case summary. Sousa is facing a total of six charges in connection with the October incident.
Sousa was given a $10,000 bail, according to court documents. He has a final pre-trial scheduled for May 10, and jury selection is slated to happen on May 10, according to court documents.
Carter, who lives in Hillsborough, faces another felony level riot charge, and six class A misdemeanors in connection with the incident.
Nicholas Mercier, 23, who is from Hillsborough, was arrested on a riot charge, a class B felony. He was also charged with two charges of hindering apprehension/ prosecution, class A misdemeanors, and a criminal threatening charge, which is also a class A misdemeanor.
Mercier was given a $5,000 bail, according to court documents. The documents read that Mercier entered a not guilty plea on March 9. Mercier had a plea and sentence hearing on March 20 and court documents indicate that he took the plea.
Christopher Dellacioppa, 35, was indicted on three charges stemming from the October incident. Dellacioppa, who is from Hillsborough, was charged with two riot charges, both class B felonies, and a hindering apprehension/ prosecution charge, a class A misdemeanor.
The riot charges were dropped in February, according to court documents. Dellacioppa did plead guilty to the hindering apprehension/ prosecution charge. He was sentenced to a year in Hillsborough County Jail and a $620 fine.