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Nashua woman with long history of drug-related arrests sought after allegedly failing to show up in court

By Dean Shalhoup - Senior Staff Reporter | Mar 23, 2021

NASHUA – A 35-year-old Nashua woman with a long history of arrests on drug-related allegations – including four within the past three months – was being sought as of late last week for allegedly failing to show up in court for arraignment on her latest set of charges.

An arrest warrant was subsequently issued for Amber Girouard, of 5 Ridge St., who had been arrested March 3 in downtown Nashua and charged with three counts of possession of a controlled drug and one count of violating the controlled drug act, all felonies, according to her Superior Court file.

A judge had continued Girouard’s initial arraignment date of March 10, and the court rescheduled it to the morning of March 17. After Girouard, who had been free on bail, allegedly failed to show up, the judge ordered a warrant be issued for her arrest.

Girouard’s most recent string of arrests began in May 2020, when she was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled drug – subsequent offense, the result of a conviction in October 2016 on drug-related charges.

About seven months later, in mid-December 2020, Girouard was arrested and charged with one count of possession of a controlled drug – subsequent offense, a felony, and three counts of dealing or possessing prescription drugs, Class A misdemeanors. A dispositional conference is scheduled in that case for April 28.

Police next took Girouard into custody on Jan. 25, charging her this time with four Class A felony counts of violating the controlled drug act on Jan. 13.

And in another arrest in mid-February, Girouard was charged with two counts of violating the controlled drug act, both Class A felonies.

Less than three weeks passed before police once again took Girouard into custody in what is her most recent arrest to date.

They charged her with two counts of possession of a controlled drug – subsequent offense and one count of possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute, all Class A felonies, and one count of possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute, a special felony.

According to police, the arrest was made by members of the department’s Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) Unit, who were conducting surveillance in the area of Railroad Square.

At some point during their operation, the POP officers noticed a woman, whom they recognized as Girouard, leave Dunkin’ Donuts and allegedly begin walking down the railroad tracks that parallel Canal Street.

The officers allegedly observed Girouard meet up with a man they said they also recognized due to prior contacts, and watched the two walk toward the intersection of Canal and Tolles streets, where they allegedly approached three other males.

When it came time to approach Girouard, the officers said in their reports that she told them she was on her way home when the man she was with allegedly stopped to talk to the three other men, but that she didn’t know why, the reports state.

Police said the officers noted that Girouard appeared nervous and allegedly kept putting her hands in her pockets. She denied having any weapons in her possession, police said, but allegedly acknowledged she “may have a baggie of heroin in her pocket.”

She also granted the officers permission to look through the purse she was carrying, but neither she nor the officers were able to open it, police said.

Getting Girouard’s OK to force it open, the officers allegedly found eight baggies of what they believed to be heroin or fentanyl and other drugs, the reports state.

Girouard allegedly “made admissions to being involved in the sales of heroin/fentanyl,” police said, but also told them that the cash in the purse “was gifted from family members,” according to the reports.

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

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