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Former officer’s homicide trial could start mid-summer

By Dean Shalhoup - Senior Staff Writer | Jan 29, 2020

MANCHESTER – A revised scheduling agreement filed Tuesday by prosecutors in the case of Tyler Berry, the former police officer accused of driving drunk and causing a crash that resulted in the death of a Milford woman, would put the start of Berry’s trial in mid-July.

Assistant County Attorney Nicole Thorspecken submitted the proposed structuring order during a brief hearing in Hillsborough County Superior Court-North.

Berry, who until recently lived in Amherst and had been a police officer in Bedford, and then Londonderry, until shortly after the April 5 crash, was indicted in August on eight charges stemming from the crash.

According to the revised agreement, which Thorspecken filed in response to a structuring order, both sides would have an April 1 deadline to disclose their lists of witnesses who may testify at trial, and a May 15 deadline to file any rebuttals to each others disclosures.

According to the schedule, a trial management conference would take place on June 25, setting the stage for jury selection to begin on July 6. The trial itself would begin within several days of the jury being seated.

Berry, 28, is accused of driving drunk and causing the nearly head-on crash that killed 21-year-old Milford resident Sierra Croteau the night of April 5. Berry’s pickup truck and Croteau’s car collided on Route 101 in Amherst.

The charges on which Berry was indicted include two counts each of manslaughter, negligent homicide, and reckless conduct; and one count each of falsifying physical evidence and criminal mischief.

One of the negligent homicide indictments accuses Berry of causing Croteau’s death “through blunt impact to her body” as a “consequence of being under the influence of intoxicating liquor,” and is classified a Class A misdemeanor.

The other negligent homicide indictment is worded the same way, except for the reference to the drunk-driving allegation, making it a Class B felony.

Both the manslaughter charges are listed as unclassified felonies; one of them includes the drunk-driving allegation. This is also the case for the reckless conduct indictments, which are both Class B felonies.

The indictments on criminal mischief and falsifying physical evidence charges, both Class B felonies, accuse Berry of driving his truck into the oncoming lane and causing a collision with Croteau’s vehicle that caused more than $1,501 in damages, and of “purposely concealing” his blood from the investigation by “refusing to submit to a blood draw that was authorized by a search warrant,” according to the indictments.

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

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