Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Court officers direct Jaime Flores to his seat at the defense table for Thursday's bail hearing on charges accusing him of driving as a habitual offender and trying to elude police.

NASHUA – The circumstances surrounding the arrest Wednesday night of Jaime Flores, a former Lowell, Massachusetts man living in Nashua, lack the “clear and convincing evidence” of dangerousness the court needs to find to send Flores, his attorney argued in court Thursday.

No police officers were injured in what attorney Ryan Guptill called “a very short (foot) pursuit … more like a few steps,” which landed Flores, 36, under arrest on charges that include operating a vehicle as a certified habitual offender, a Class B felony, along with two counts of resisting arrest or detention and one count of disobeying a police officer, all Class A misdemeanors.

But the prosecutor, Assistant County Attorney Brett Harpster, had a different take on the series of alleged incidents that led to Flores’ arrest late Wednesday night.

“This isn’t just a habitual offender charge,” Harpster told the court. “It’s a significant incident, your honor … it’s a foot pursuit … the police had to take (Flores) to the ground and had to use OC spray,” he added, referring to the device commonly called “pepper spray.”

Add to that the fact that Flores has a significant criminal history, and is currently on probation on previous charges, and there’s enough evidence to consider Flores a danger to the community or himself, and warrant preventive detention.

In arguing for personal recognizance bail for Flores, Guptill told the court he recently moved from Lowell to his brother’s place in Nashua to “try and get himself back on his feet.

“He’s started working again … he has five children he provides child support for,” Guptill said.

But Temple, citing Flores’ criminal history and “the circumstances of your arrest” Wednesday night, ordered Flores held on preventive detention.

Harpster said it was about 10:30 p.m. when Nashua police were called to a report of a domestic incident at a Ridgefield Drive residence.

While en route, officers were given a description of a vehicle that had left the residence, and was heading toward the Main Dunstable Road.

Moments later, one of the officers heading to Ridgefield Drive on West Hollis Street passed a car matching the description, and turned around and activated his lights in an attempt to stop the car, according to Harpster.

But the vehicle abruptly turned onto Gary Street, an entrance to a mobile home park roughly across West Hollis Street from Four Hills Landfill, Harpster said.

The officer followed, at which time the driver, later identified as Flores, allegedly got out and began fleeing on foot.

He allegedly “ignored police commands to stop,” Harpster said, and when pursuing officers caught up to him, they had to “bring him down to the ground” while trying to take him into custody.

Flores allegedly resisted, Harpster said, and officers felt it necessary to use the OC spray to restrain him and take him into custody.

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