NASHUA – When law enforcement personnel in the region and as far away as South Carolina got word that fugitive Scott Collier possessed numerous firearms and indicated he had no intention of going back to jail, they labeled him "armed and dangerous" and redoubled their efforts to track him down.

The multi-state, multi-jurisdictional operation came to fruition late last month in a downtown Nashua neighborhood, when Nashua’s special reaction team and federal agents took Collier down after spotting him riding in a car, officials said.

Collier, 34, who is currently transient but has had addresses in Concord, Rye and Hudson in the past, was arrested "safely" and without incident, a New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force spokesman said.

Collier’s lawyer, Nashua attorney Roger "Rusty" Chadwick, said last week that his client was being held on $50,000 cash only bail at Valley Street jail in Manchester.

Chadwick said Collier planned to waive a probable cause hearing and instead await a grand jury review of his case to weigh the evidence against him.

Collier’s arrest, which took place shortly after 1 p.m. July 21 at the corner of Elm and West Otterson streets, came about two months after he was taken into custody in South Carolina, officials said. It’s not clear what the charges were, but the task force spokesman said South Carolina law enforcement personnel notified New Hampshire officials that Collier was in possession of various firearms at the time.

Also not clear are the circumstances under which Collier was apparently released from custody in South Carolina.

But the fact he was likely heavily armed, and given his alleged comments about not going back to jail, authorities in both jurisdictions intensified their efforts to track Collier down, the spokesman said.

Collier was wanted on charges that include multiple counts of theft in Nashua, failure to appear in court offenses, along with drug possession and habitual offender cases out of Rockingham County.

Two of the theft charges stem from his arrest in Nashua for allegedly stealing two Tag Hauer watches and a gold chain from two local jewelers in October 2014.

In 2011, Collier was serving time at Rockingham County jail in Brentwood when he reported to authorities that a female jail guard was having a relationship with one of his fellow inmates.

He was released from jail, agreeing to work as a confidential informant for police by taking part in a drug transaction with the jail guard.

The guard bought what she thought was Oxycontin on behalf of the inmate she was involved with, and was arrested later that day when she reported to work, according to news reports at the time.

The substance turned out to be a placebo.

As for Collier’s July arrest, U.S. Marshal David Cargill Jr. praised law enforcement’s collaboration in the operation.

"The ability to be a fugitive on the run is greatly hampered, (because) the network of experienced investigators spans… the country," Cargill said in a statement. "This is what the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Forces are all about – working together to quickly and safely arrest fugitives."

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-6443, dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com or@Telegraph_DeanS.

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