A Franklin man is being held on $20,000 bail after pulling a knife on a man in Canterbury, police said.
Canterbury Sgt. Ernie Beaulieu said William Wheeler, 54, was arrested on the evening of Sept. 21 along West Road.
“A gentleman was giving a ride, supposed to be to a residence in Canterbury,” Beaulieu said Thursday. “I guess on the way to the residence the passenger pulled a knife and asked for a wallet.”
The driver, who was on Southwest Road at the time, offered to drive Wheeler to an ATM after he discovered there wasn’t much money in the wallet, Beaulieu said.
Police reports show that as the driver continued, he saw a woman in her driveway and pulled over to ask for help. At that point, Wheeler allegedly fled into the woods.
Canterbury and state police responded to the area, and Beaulieu said Wheeler came back out of the woods within an hour or so, and he was taken into custody.
Wheeler was transported to Merrimack County jail and was arraigned by video the next day on charges of criminal threatening and robbery. He’s now being held on $20,000 cash bail.
Beaulieu said the driver and Wheeler knew each other.
“Just someone he was just trying to help out,” Beaulieu said.
(Elodie Reed can be reached at 369-3306, ereed@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @elodie_reed.)