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Judge OKs impersonal contact between suspect and victim

By Dean Shalhoup - Senior Staff Writer | Oct 26, 2019

NASHUA POLICE PHOTO Joseph Mendonca, 22, of 122 Palm St., Nashua

NASHUA – U.S. Army veteran Joseph Mendonca, whose arrest in July on five domestic-assault related charges was described by his attorney as “very out of character” for the 22-year-old Nashua man, is now allowed to be in contact with the alleged victim – but only through phone calls, email, or text messages, a judge has ruled.

And the topic of their interaction must be limited to discussing “child care matters,” Judge Jacalyn Colburn ruled in agreeing to amend Mendonca’s bail conditions.

Colburn, who also presided over Mendonca’s bail hearing on the day following his arrest, granted him personal recognizance bail, on the condition he undergo a mental health evaluation at the Veterans Affairs hospital.

Police charged Mendonca, who served three and a half years of active duty and has no criminal record, with one felony count of second-degree assault – domestic violence, along with three counts of simple assault – domestic violence and one count of criminal mischief, all Class A misdemeanors.

The charges accuse Mendonca of strangling a woman known to him and otherwise assaulting her, including allegedly striking her in the head, before allegedly taking her phone and “snapping it in half,” a prosecutor told the court at the July bail hearing.

Mendonca is next due in court on Dec. 5 for a dispositional hearing.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256, or at dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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