Citizenship status prompts family fracas
NASHUA – When Joseph Naresh Fuller, now 42, was adopted by a Nashua couple when he was 10, obtaining his American citizenship was one of the top priorities for the young man and his new family.
But for some reason, Fuller’s attorney said in court Wednesday, that process never took place, and from what police wrote in their reports after arresting Fuller Tuesday evening, citizenship paperwork appeared to be at the center of a domestic altercation in which Fuller is accused of pulling a knife on two family members, assaulting one of them and resisting police attempts to take him into custody.
Fuller, of 12 N. Seventh St., was eventually arrested and transported to police headquarters for booking on a mix of felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from the incident.
They include two counts of criminal threatening – domestic violence and one count of attempted second-degree assault – domestic violence, all Class B felonies, and three counts of simple assault – domestic violence and one count of resisting arrest or detention, all Class A misdemeanors.
Fuller was housed overnight on bail, and appeared Wednesday in Hillsborough County Superior Court-South, where he was represented by attorney Sarah Amorin for arraignment and a bail hearing.
Judge Charles Temple, after hearing from Amorin and Assistant County Attorney Brett Harpster ordered Fuller housed on preventive detention, citing his “extensive criminal history” that includes convictions in 2017 for armed robbery and burglary, and the fact Fuller is currently out on bail regarding a criminal threatening charge pending in Nashua district court.
Police said in their reports that one of the alleged victims called police shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday, reporting that Fuller allegedly threatened her and the other family member with a knife during a disturbance at the North Seventh Street residence.
The second alleged victim, a male, told police Fuller punched him in the face and chin, causing a bloody nose. The woman told police she was able to capture video of much of the incident, and gave her phone to an officer to review the footage.
The woman, according to the police reports, told officers the man tried to disarm Fuller, but he allegedly “became more volatile,” prompting the woman to spray Fuller twice with her pepper spray.
The two alleged victims said they ran out the front door, as did Fuller, the reports state, but when Fuller went back in, the male alleged victim followed him.
When police arrived, they told the alleged victim to come out of the house, but, police said, he refused to leave, which prompted them to arrest him for resisting arrest and assaulting an officer.
Meanwhile, other officers and detectives continued searching for Fuller, the reports state. Nearly three hours later, a detective was able to reach Fuller by phone, and he agreed to meet police near 11 Ledge St.
When they tried to “pat him down,” police said, Fuller allegedly “turned his body away in protest and resisted detention.”
He was subsequently taken into custody and transported to police headquarters for booking, but allegedly refused to provide a statement to police, the reports state.
Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256, or at dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.