File photo Kristopher R. Kelley, 38, of Wes Locke Road, Barnstead

NASHUA – The Concord-area man who is accused of causing some anxious moments at a Merrimack hotel Dec. 30 by allegedly setting his room on fire, barricading the door then destroying the smoke detector was arraigned Tuesday in Hillsborough County Superior Court South.

Kristopher R. Kelley, 38, of 39 Wes Locke Road in Barnstead, was reportedly under the influence of crystal meth at the time, according to his girlfriend, who told police she had left the hotel after the two argued about his drug use.

Kelley was arraigned on one count each of arson, a Class A felony, and interfering with a fire alarm, Class B felony, which accuse him of

setting the fire in Room 109 of the hotel and “knocking … an audible fire alarm from the ceiling, rendering (it) inaudible, during the course of a structure fire,” according to court documents.

Judge Charles Temple set bail at $25,000 cash or surety, and ordered that if Kelley is released, he “shall be subject to electronic monitoring,” and apply for substance abuse treatment within 14 days of release.

A dispositional conference was set for Feb. 26 in the Nashua court.

Merrimack firefighters and police responded to the Quality Inn, 242 Daniel Webster Highway, around 11 p.m. after receiving numerous 911 calls for a fire in the building, police said in affidavits filed in court.

Arriving personnel found a man, later identified as Kelley, outside a first floor window clad only in underwear, police said. They determined he’d smashed the window and jumped out.

As medical personnel began treating him for smoke inhalation, police said, they noticed he appeared to be under the influence “of some type of drug,” based on what paramedics and firefighters described as “unusual” and “wildly erratic” behavior.

The medics discovered Kelley was “clutching tightly” a cigarette lighter and was “refusing to let go,” police wrote.

He eventually surrendered the lighter, and medics continued treating him before taking him by ambulance to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua.

Meanwhile, firefighters had entered the room to quell the blaze, the origin of which they traced to a mattress, police stated.

Officers then spoke with the hotel manager, who said he had gotten a report of an argument in Kelley’s room and was on his way to check it out when a pizza delivery man arrived, saying he was also going to room 109.

As they approached the room, the manager said they saw “smoke billowing from the top of the door jamb” and could hear the smoke alarm sounding.

The two men “made numerous attempts to get Kelley to open the door,” police said, and as they tried to force their way in, it became “obvious that he had pinned something up against the door.”

The delivery man called 911 while the manager went from room to room to alert guests of the fire, he told police.

Kelley’s girlfriend, meanwhile, told police the two were arguing about his drug use when she decided to leave. She drove to a fast-food restaurant, and decided to return to the hotel after seeing emergency vehicles headed that way.

She told police that Kelley “has an extensive drug habit,” and he was allegedly using crystal meth.

The hotel manager estimated the hotel sustained $150,000 damage, and would lose as much as $100,000 in room-rental revenue while it was closed for renovations.

Several days after the fire, police said they went to the hospital to speak with Kelley, but intensive care unit personnel told them Kelley had “pulled all medical devices from his body and left the hospital against medical advice by doctors.”

Police subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest, and took him into custody on Monday.

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

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