Fired Dover cop seeks access to guns while on bail

DOVER – The attorney for former Dover police officer Ronald “RJ” Letendre asked for his client to have access to guns while out on bail on a felony charge of falsifying physical evidence.

Strafford County Attorney Thomas Velardi also revealed Letendre and his estranged wife, Sarah Letendre, may be seeking to reunite, raising that as a concern regarding the guns.

Public defender Carl Swenson argued Friday morning “that there is a constitutional right to a firearm” and Letendre should not be prevented from having access to one “merely because of an accusation of a felony-level offense.”

Swenson told Superior Court Judge Mark Howard “the circumstances of this case does not suggest” there would be any danger for Letendre to have “access to a firearm.”

Velardi maintained it is a standard bail provision for defendants charged with a felony to be prohibited from having access to guns or ammunition. He told Howard he couldn’t think of another defendant facing a felony charge out of Strafford County Superior Court “who has been able to have access to a firearm.”

Velardi pointed to an incident between Letendre and Sarah Letendre that occurred on July 10 in Rollinsford.

Rollinsford police arrested Sarah Letendre at the time and charged her with simple assault and other charges after Letendre called them because of a domestic incident at their home.

Those charges have since been dropped.

Sarah Letendre and her family have previously said R.J. Letendre, who is a former mixed martial arts fighter, was the aggressor in the incident, during which she suffered multiple fractured ribs. He has not been charged in connection with the incident.

Velardi told Howard he received a phone call from Sarah Letendre stating that “they want to reunite” and she “wants him in the home.”

That’s despite the fact they’re “only a few months removed when authorities had to be notified to separate them,” the county attorney said.

The incident occurred when both of their young children were home.

Velardi stressed RJ Letendre “certainly was a party to a domestic dispute” and should not have access to firearms. He noted that if the couple was “reuniting in some shape or form” it’s “prudent to keep firearms out of the equation.”

After the hearing, Velardi said Sarah Letendre called him after RJ Letendre was indicted in October.

The indictment returned by the grand jury states Letendre, on Sept. 16, 2016 investigated the delivery of controlled drugs to 21 Oak Hill Drive in Dover.

More:R.J. Letendre charged with taking drugs police seized for evidence

“In the course of that investigation, he did remove a portion of the seized controlled drugs before entering the seized controlled drugs into evidence at the Dover Police Department,” according to the indictment.

On Friday evening, Sarah Letendre contacted Foster’s and stated she did not tell Velardi that her and RJ were reuniting or reconciling.

She described Velardi’s comments as “a misinterpretation of what I said.”

She stressed that she has a great deal of respect for Velardi, who she said she got to know when she previously worked in the drug court.

“I never once said I’m going to reconcile with RJ and he also has no plans to reconcile with me,” Sarah Letendre said Friday evening.

She called Velardi after she read a story in Foster’s about RJ being indicted.

“I asked them to have some mercy,” she said. “My kids are not going to benefit from him being in jail.”

She added that “I’m just looking out for my kids, we both care about our kids very, very much.”

“What I told Tom is I've had RJ over for family nights once a week so the kids can see him and they can see us get along,” she said. “It’s nothing to do with reconciling. We worked out a parenting plan together and it’s the greater good for them.”

Reached Friday evening, Velardi stuck by the statements he made in court, stating he took notes about their conversation and went back and reread the notes.

“I know what she told me,” he said.

He told Sarah Letendre that he respected her position and that he would “try to be respectful of her wishes.”

“But I told her I have to do what I have to do, and she seemed to understand that,” he said.

She also talked about the fact that she and RJ have kids together “and they have to find a way to co-parent,” he said.

“I am a public servant who will listen to folks who want to explain their extenuating circumstance not in the four corners of the police report,” he said. “I happen to have a lot of respect for her as well from our time working together.”

Michelle Wangerin, Sarah Letendre’s attorney, could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.

Sarah Palermo, the communications manager for New Hampshire Legal Assistance, replied to a request for comment made to  Wangerin.

“Sarah is not a public figure, she‘s a victim of domestic violence,” Palermo said Friday.

Her attorney is “bound by attorney client privilege and cannot speak about the case,” she said.

She declined to comment on Sarah Letendre’s relationship with RJ Letendre.

Wangerin previously stated in court papers that Sarah Letendre was assaulted on July 10 “after enduring months of escalating violence” by R.J. Letendre.

Swenson said Letendre needs access to firearms because he has a job prospect that requires that access and he also needs security clearance.

“This is for practical reasons he’s seeking access to a firearm,” Swenson said.

Velardi predicted “it’s not only going to be difficult ... it’s going to be nearly impossible” for Letendre to get security clearance “based on how his employment ended with the Dover police.”

Dover Police Chief William Breault terminated Letendre “due to multiple violations of departmental policy” after they conducted an internal investigation into his conduct.

Police launched the investigation after Sarah Letendre, 35, received an outpouring of support on social media following the domestic incident.

More:Dover police officer R.J. Letendre fired after investigation sparked by domestic case

Velardi also asked Howard to issue an order compelling Letendre to report to the Dover Police Department to be booked on the felony charges, and have his photograph and fingerprints taken.

Swenson said he didn’t see any reason why that was necessary.

Velardi said, “Frankly, the alternative of that is to charge him with some of the misdemeanor crimes that he could be charged with and have him arrested.”

Howard took the matter under advisement after Friday’s telephone hearing and said he would issue a bail order shortly.