New Hampshire

Police: Men Slashed Multiple Tires Outside New Hampshire Convenience Store

Salem Police said the store owner and an employee were caught on surveillance drilling holes in the tires of 10 vehicles

Two New Hampshire men are facing charges in connection with a vandalism spree on Friday outside a Salem convenience store.

Police said they responded to the M & N Borderline Beverage on South Broadway at 8:37 p.m. after the owner, Yogesh Patel, 36, reported that multiple vehicles were illegally parked in his lot but not using his business.

When officers arrived to the scene, they noticed 10 vehicles in the parking lot had one or more tires deflated.

After reviewing surveillance video from the store, an investigation revealed that Yogesh Patel and another employee, Deepakkumar Patel, 43, had walked around the parking lot, and drilled holes in over 20 tires.

"Initially the owner tried to tell us they were fake cameras, we knew that was not necessarily true at the time," said Salem Police Sergeant Jason Smith.

He said it was unusual that the men would call police then videotape themselves.

"He [Patel] told us he went out right after the phone call and did this. They didn’t have a good reason other than they were angry about the cars," said Smith.

Police said they were able to recover the drill the men used to cause the damage.

Both men were taken into custody and charged with falsifying physical evidence as well as conspiracy to commit criminal mischief. They were released on $5,000 cash bail and are scheduled to be arraigned June 28 in Salem District Court.

Contact Us