NASHUA – When Joshua McDougal’s mother found out he took a firearm from their home and was threatening to kill himself, reportedly because he was prohibited from seeing his child, she called police looking for help.

However, according to the attorney representing McDougal at his bail hearing on Tuesday, police never came to the house to speak with him, nor did they call him on the phone to check on his well-being.

McDougal, 24, of 39 Nutting Hill Road, Greenville, went before Superior Court Judge Charles Temple Tuesday afternoon for the bail hearing after waiving formal arraignment on two charges on which he would later be arrested while sleeping at his brother’s house in Manchester.

McDougal faces one count each of felon in possession of a firearm, a Class B felony, and violating a court protective order, a Class A misdemeanor, after Manchester police picked him up on a warrant the local police issued at some point earlier in the day.

Assistant County Attorney Michael Miller at Tuesday’s hearing recommended McDougal be housed on preventive detention, in large part, he said, because McDougal posed “an extreme danger to himself,” given the allegations that McDougal took a handgun and expressed suicidal ideations.

However, attorney Sarah Amorin argued for personal recognizance bail, based on the circumstances surrounding the series of events that led to his arrest, plus the fact McDougal has no criminal history and is willing to meet with a mental health professional.

McDougal is not a threat to anyone, Amorin continued. “What we have here is someone expressing sadness and needing help.”

Amorin said when McDougal arrived at his brother’s house in Manchester, he called his mother to say he was OK. His mother suggested he call police “to tell him where he was,” which he did, Amorin said.

However, police “never said anything about an arrest warrant when he spoke with them,” she said. “Everyone was sleeping (at McDougal’s brother’s house) when police showed up to arrest him.”

Also figuring into that decision, Temple said, was “the police response to this … and your arrest … it’s just curious to me.”

Conditions of McDougal’s bail order include he undergo a mental health evaluation within 24 hours, live at his family’s Nutting Hill Road residence, and continue to abide by the terms of the court order that prohibits him from having contact with the mother of his child.

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