A Concord man at the center of an eight-hour standoff with police following a domestic violence call early Saturday will be released from jail but subject to intensive supervision, a judge ordered Monday.
Nicholas Trebian, 38, will be monitored by Merrimack County’s pretrial services program and must wear a GPS ankle monitor. He is also prohibited from being in the Franklin Street neighborhood where police say the assault and subsequent standoff occurred.
Trebian is accused of assaulting his intimate partner inside an apartment at 27 Franklin St. and of later fleeing the residence in an attempt to avoid apprehension. According to court documents, Trebian ran to neighboring 25 Franklin St., where he barricaded himself for several hours and refused officers’ commands to come out.
As more people have complied with government directives to stay at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, Concord police say they’ve seen an uptick in domestic violence-related calls, and that they’re now responding to homes where there is no prior history of abuse. As of Monday morning, the department had responded to 55 domestic violence calls so far this month, with more than half classified as “high severity.”
Both advocates and law enforcement officers continue to express concern about an increase in calls because orders to isolate at home mean more victims are now trapped with their abusers, allowing for fewer changes to seek help. Additionally, family dynamics are being tested as people spend more time confined to one space together.
On Saturday, police allege Trebian was in possession of a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun at the time of the reported assault at 27 Franklin St. Two witnesses – both of whom were inside the apartment at the time – said they heard a sound like a “gun cocking” when Trebian was yelling at his intimate partner, according to a sworn police affidavit.
Trebian is facing a felony count of being a convicted felon in possession of a deadly weapon, in addition to misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, criminal threatening and domestic violence. He was detained over the weekend at the county jail in Boscawen, pending his arraignment Monday in Merrimack County Superior Court in Concord.
While prosecutors initially asked the court to order Trebian held without bail, attorneys on both sides ultimately agreed Monday afternoon to conditions of supervised release.
Judge John Kissinger Jr., who presided over the hearing, said he was deeply concerned by allegations that Trebian, a convicted felon, had possessed a gun at the time of the assault and showed it to his victim while making verbal threats. At the same time, he noted that Trebian’s most recent conviction was nearly a decade ago and that, excluding Saturday’s incident, he has remained out of trouble.
“I do have a high degree of confidence in pretrial services,” Kissinger said, explaining that supervised conditions of release will ensure the community’s safety.
Concord police responded to 27 Franklin St. on Saturday just after 9 a.m. for a report of a domestic assault between a man and a woman. The 911 caller, who had locked herself in a bedroom inside the residence, told a dispatcher that the couple had been fighting and that she could now hear what she believed to be the loading of a firearm, according to an affidavit filed by Concord police Detective Wade Brown.
Once officers arrived at the scene, they met with the woman who had reported the assault and a child under the age of 13 who had also been in the apartment. Both witnesses told police they heard Trebian slap his intimate partner, which caused her to cry. Additionally, the child said she heard a gun being loaded and then Trebian say, “Want some of this?” to which his partner replied, “Please don’t.”
Police said they soon spoke with the victim who reported that Trebian had fled the apartment out a side door. She reported that she and Trebian had argued both Friday night and Saturday morning because she suspected he was cheating on her.
On Saturday, Trebian allegedly told her, “Don’t (exploitive) with me,” and threw a cup of water at her, the affidavit says.
Brown wrote that the woman did not make any reports about the firearm, but that a gun was later recovered by police at the residence. As is common in cases of domestic violence, he said he believes the victim may have tried to minimize the assault to protect Trebian from further prosecution.
After a search of 27 Franklin St., police were unable to locate Trebian. As a result, Officer Patrick Ofrias tried calling Trebian, who answered his cellphone and said he was headed to his mother’s residence in Pembroke and that he would call back in a few hours. Ofrias said he was not convinced that Trebian was in the car and soon after called Trebian’s mother who confirmed her son was not there. However, she said Trebian had a friend at neighboring 25 Franklin St. and could be there.
When contacted, a resident of that apartment told police that Trebian was in fact inside but did not appear to be armed, the affidavit says. Officers tried several times to contact Trebian by phone but he did not answer the calls.
Ultimately, Concord police with the assistance of the Central New Hampshire Special Operations Unit used an intercom system to notify Trebian that he was under arrest and to order him to surrender, Deputy Chief John Thomas said in an interview Monday. But for approximately eight hours, Trebian remained inside the residence and never responded.
Thomas declined to comment on the tactics used by law enforcement to get Trebian out of the residence at 25 Franklin St. However, in hours-long standoffs it is common for officers to deploy OC vapor aerosol grenades, which let off a powerful mist that inflames the mucous membranes and is uncomfortable to the skin.
Once Trebian exited the residence, he complied with officers’ commands and was handcuffed without further incident.