Alleged South End Meth Lab Leads to Other Charges

CONCORD, NH — Last month’s discovery of an alleged methamphetamine lab on Perley Street in the South End of Concord led to more charges against one of the residents of the home, according to police. James L. Mott, 31, of Perley Street, was arrested on July 1, 2016, and charged with resisting arrest or detention, carry/sell weapons (switchblades, etc.), simple assault, criminal mischief, and felony theft by unauthorized taking or transfer.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department and Concord District Court. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

On July 1, Concord Police, Merrimack Sheriffs, and New Hampshire State Police were sent to a report of a meth lab at a home on Perley Street, after police were tipped off that there were children in the home where drugs were allegedly being manufactured, according to a court affidavit. Investigators also learned that Mott was residing at the home and had an active warrant, specifically, from a Concord Regional Crimeline alert case about a theft at Hannaford in March, where a customer was injured.

“Additionally, the report indicated that there were illegal firearms and counterfeit money in the residence,” according to a court affidavit.

Concord detectives arrived at the scene and spoke with a woman, a man, and a child at the residence and while there, heard someone running inside the residence from the back and then, heard a door slam. Officers announced their presence, checked the residence, and found a man locked in a room. That man reportedly gave a fake name but police knew him to be Adam Roz and he was arrested on warrants.

While checking the rest of the home, police allegedly found a meth lab in the basement and state police later confirmed, according to the affidavit, that there was a meth lab in the home.

Police continued to search the home including an attic access via a bedroom closet. In the attic, they allegedly located Mott “hiding after he had buried himself in insulation,” according to the report. He was allegedly in possession of brass knuckles at the time of his arrest.

Crimeline case

Back on March 17, police were sent to Hannaford for a report of a theft with a suspect reportedly injuring a customer and then fleeing the store.

The investigating officer spoke to a loss prevention employee who stated he was watching a suspect on video reportedly moving around the store, picking up multiple items, and holding them in his hands. The man allegedly concealed the items in his pockets and left the store without paying for them.

Five items with a value of around $53 were recovered by the employee. The suspect, however, refused to go back with the loss prevention officer, claiming to be claustrophobic. He eventually did go to the officer and allegedly gave the name of “Blaze Gebo” with the address of a notorious flophouse on North Spring Street to the employee. Since he didn’t have an ID, the employee told the suspect that he was going to call police and as he did, the suspect allegedly fled the office and collided with an elderly customer entering the store.

The collision caused the customer’s glasses to break as well as a cut on her nose which bled onto her face, according to police.

The officer eyed video footage, saw the alleged incident, and took surveillance screenshots from the video, according to a court affidavit. Officers investigated the crime an attempted to identify the perp but were unable to.

About a month later, a Concord Regional Crimeline alert was posted and police received a tip that it might be Mott. The tipster reportedly stated that Mott was living on Perley Street and was out on probation.

An officer compared a picture of Mott from an earlier arrest in March and it matched the security footage, according to an affidavit.

The officer reached out to Mott’s probation officer and learned that he allegedly had missed his check-ins since February. The probation officer also eyed the security footage and alleged that Mott had worn the same jacket in February, the last time he saw him.

A warrant was issued on May 9, and he was arrested on July 1.