Head-butting inmate indicted on eight counts of fraud

Courtroom scene on Nov. 30 as Josiah Davies moves in for a double head-butt on unsuspecting child molester Christopher Elwell. (WMUR image), and in booking photo from November, (Rochester Police)

DOVER - A Rochester transient arrested in November in a series of forgeries but who made headlines when he twice head-butted a convicted child molester in front of bailiffs and Sheriff's deputies inside Strafford County Superior Court has been indicted on the original fraud charges.

Josiah Davies, 28, was originally charged with 14 felony forgery counts but the indictments trim those to just seven in addition to a charge accusing him of fraudulent use of a credit card. Each count carries a maximum penalty of seven years in state prison.

The investigation into the forgeries began in April 2017 after HRCU notified police about the fraudulent transactions, Rochester Police Capt. Jason Thomas said shortly after the arrest.

All the forgeries occurred between April and November.

Davies was awaiting a pretrial hearing on Nov. 30 when another Strafford County Jail inmate was in court to plead guilty in a child molestation case.

Christopher Elwell, 29, of Dover, had just pleaded guilty and been sentenced by Superior Court Judge Mark Howard to a seven and a half to 15-year sentence and returned to the back row of the courtroom to sit down when Davies got up from where he was sitting and violently head-butted Elwell at least twice.

Davies waited until Elwell returned to the back of the courtroom after his sentencing, stood up, took a couple of quick steps toward Elwell and delivered at least two strikes before a Strafford County Sheriff's Deputy was able to shove him aside and take him down.

Video of the event was captured by a WMUR cameraman.

Davies was indicted in February in the attacks and faces 14 years in prison if convicted.

He remains at the jail on $100,000 cash bail.

The April Strafford County grand jury indictments were handed down April 19 and released on Wednesday.

An indictment is not an indication of guilt, rather that enough evidence has been presented to warrant a trial.