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Man charged with stealing PD cruiser indicted

By Dean Shalhoup - Senior Staff Writer | Oct 24, 2019

Telegraph file photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Oscar Alicea, the Nashua man indicted on charges stemming from his alleged attempt to steal a police cruiser in June, talks with his attorney, Amanda Steenhuis, during a June bail hearing.

NASHUA – The 24-year-old city man accused of hopping into a police cruiser and taking off – and proceeding to drive in circles while struggling with the officer whose car he was trying to steal – has been indicted on seven of the 14 charges initially filed against him.

Oscar Alicea, last known address of 19A Bridge St., is next scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Nov. 19 for a status hearing in the case, according to his file at Hillsborough County Superior Court-South.

The case summary states the attorneys in the case are “awaiting an evaluation of the defendant,” but it doesn’t specify what type of evaluation.

In the meantime, the Hillsborough South grand jury for October just indicted Alicea on six felonies and one misdemeanor charge in connection with the June 23 incident, which occurred on Marshall Street near the intersection of Bowers Street, adjacent to Sullivan Park.

They include one count of attempted theft, a Class A felony that accuses him of trying to steal the cruiser; four counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and one count of robbery, Class B felonies; and one count of simple assault, a Class A misdemeanor.

The robbery charge alleges Alicea used physical force while allegedly attempting to steal the cruiser, specifically biting the officer, Michael Kekejian, on the arm. That alleged bite also accounts for the simple assault charge.

The reckless conduct charges accuse Alicea of placing three women, and Kekejian, in danger of serious bodily injury during an episode that Assistant County Attorney Brett Harpster described as a potentially deadly series of events.

It’s not yet known if Alicea will be indicted on any of the other seven offenses with which he was initially charged, or if they were presented to the grand jury, but indictments weren’t returned.

Those other seven charges include one count of theft of a firearm, a Class A felony; three counts of conduct after an accident and one count each of resisting arrest, resisting detention and obstructing government administration, all Class A misdemeanors.

Harpster, the prosecutor at Alicea’s June 24 arraignment and bail hearing, alleged that Alicea initially approached the cruiser to “smash out its windows with a crowbar,” but he allegedly decided to get in and try to steal the car.

With Alicea and Kekejian allegedly struggling in the driver’s seat, Harpster said the cruiser “did a complete U-turn” across Marshall Street, jumped a curb, struck a fence at 41 Marshall St., and crashed into a set of porch steps at another residence before heading toward Sullivan Park.

There, according to Harpster, the cruiser jumped another curb, struck a steel bench and continued on – heading straight toward a woman sitting on the grass in the park.

The woman “jumped up and ran,” Harpster said, adding that seconds later, the cruiser sped right over the spot where she was sitting.

Another woman, who Harpster said was walking her dog in the park, suddenly saw the cruiser heading toward her. “It was coming right at her … she picked up her dog and ran away from it,” Harpster added, referring to the path the cruiser appeared to be taking.

“If she hadn’t run away, she would have been crushed,” Harpster said.

Some witnesses police interviewed recalled suddenly hearing a siren sounding, and when they looked in that direction, saw the cruiser – with the driver’s door open and a uniformed officer “partially in the cruiser with his feet hanging out the open door” – speeding backward, jumping curbs and striking a fence.

“Officer Kekejian put his life on the line to stop this defendant from (allegedly) stealing a cruiser and harming members of the community,” Harpster told the court.

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

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