City teen who faced up to 30 years walks out of plea deal with suspended sentence

Noah A. Dumont (Rochester Police photo)

DOVER - A Rochester man who had faced up to 15 years in state prison on receiving stolen property charges walked out of Strafford County Superior Court on Wednesday with a suspended sentence and no jail time.

Noah A. Dumont, 18, of 59 Walnut St., Rochester, had also been charged in March with first degree assault for allegedly stabbing a drug dealer in a Bridge Street apartment house during a botched robbery attempt. That charge was also a Class A felony with potential prison time of up to 15 years, but prosecutors dropped the assault charge in May.

Dumont was indicted on the receiving stolen property charge in May. His plea deal suspends a 12-month sentence for a period of two years, during which time he'll have to stay on good behavior to stay out of jail.

He'll also have to pay back $616 for the HVAC tools he stole from a company doing work at his house in November, and complete any drug counseling and program as directed by the Department of Corrections. The receiving stolen property charge was reduced to a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a 12-month maximum sentence.

Affidavits in the two cases shed light on what Dumont did in the stolen property case and is alleged to have done in the Bridge Street stabbing.

When officers first arrived at an apartment building at 17½ Bridge St. around 2:50 a.m. on March 7, they found a 24-year-old Rochester man suffering from multiple stab wounds "to his face, torso, leg and hands," an affidavit filed by police states.

Later at Frisbie Memorial Hospital, the victim told police that the suspect - later identified as Dumont - had called him to purchase heroin. He said that when they met up on Bridge Street, the suspect "pulled a knife and demanded that he empty his pockets."

The victim refused and tried to leave, which prompted the alleged stabbing, said police, who noted that the wounded man was ultimately treated and released with no serious injuries.

According to the affidavit, police found a cellphone at the scene that had the name of a woman who turned out to be Dumont's mother on its home screen. Later after conducting more interviews at the hospital where the victim was being treated, police learned that a man by the name of "Noah" had been identified as the assailant.

When officers later made contact with Dumont they noted he had "bruising and redness near his left eye and a small cut to his right palm."

Police say Dumont's side of the story was that the victim and two black males had jumped him, that one of the black males had had a knife and that he'd cut his palm trying to grab it. However, police noted Dumont had no explanation as to why the victim had suffered multiple stab wounds.

Dumont was arrested around 10:40 a.m. on March 9 after it was learned he had warrants for his arrest during a traffic stop on South Main Street.

At that time he was also arrested on a separate charge of receiving stolen property in connection with the alleged theft of tools from an HVAC repairman working at Dumont's home on Nov. 1.

According to a separate affidavit, the HVAC repairman returned to his truck to find the tools missing after working in the home's basement.

When the investigating officer talked to Dumont, who was the only person home at the time, he said he knew nothing about the missing tools but that he'd seen a black truck pull up beside the HVAC tech's truck earlier in the day. At that time Dumont also denied he'd taken the tools, according to the affidavit.

Later in the day, the investigating officer got a call from Quick Cash pawn shop, who had been alerted by the HVAC repairman that the tools had been stolen and someone might be coming in and trying to fence them. The pawn shop employee said that two males were in their shop now and trying to sell the items described as those stolen from the truck.

Two officers responded immediately to the store and intercepted a vehicle with Dumont and three others in it as it was leaving the parking lot.

Dumont was released to his parents as he was still a minor at the time.

Dumont, however, was arrested on the receiving stolen property charges after he turned 18 on Dec. 3, which under state statute is allowed if the statute of limitations hasn't expired and no juvenile petition has been filed based upon acts committed before a minor's 18^th birthday, the affidavit noted.

Because the tools were valued at more than $3,000, Dumont had faced a Class A felony in that charge, too.

The Strafford County prosecutor in the case, Katelyn Henmueller, was not immediately available for comment.