Sheriff Mark Brave faces court hearing that could land him in jail before trial

BRENTWOOD — Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave, charged with stealing from the county, is due in court as he faces the possibility of his bail being revoked and being sent to jail.

It is not clear if Brave will have an attorney representing him when he appears in Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5. He lost access to a court-appointed attorney after being accused of buying a Porsche and telling the court he could not afford legal counsel.

Judge Daniel St. Hilaire found Brave had been dishonest about his finances, agreeing with prosecutors from the New Hampshire attorney general's office in November. He told Brave he would have to pay for his own attorney.

Brave, 38, appeared in court without an attorney for his arraignment Sept. 28, when he pleaded not guilty to eight felony charges. The charges allege he used $19,000 in county money to fund personal trips amid multiple extramarital affairs and lied about it to a Strafford County grand jury.

Brave was initially charged in August with one count of theft by deception (a Class A felony), two counts of falsifying physical evidence (Class B felonies) and five counts of perjury (Class B felonies).

In November, prosecutors alleged Brave committed two additional felonies, theft by deception and perjury. They allege he wrongly accepted more than $10,000 in pay as sheriff while residing in Massachusetts, which violated his bail order and a requirement county sheriffs live in New Hampshire. They also said he lied about his finances under oath on his application for a court-appointed attorney.

Brave is a Democrat who was elected as the state's first Black sheriff in 2020 and was reelected to a second two-year term in 2022. He did not return messages seeking comment for this story.

As of late Friday, Brave did not have an attorney listed with the court.

Appearing in court without an attorney 'not a good idea,' veteran lawyer says

So, is Brave allowed to represent himself in court without an attorney? Yes, but it is not advisable, legal experts say.

Mark Sisti is a New Hampshire lawyer based in Chichester who is known for his work in the 1991 Pamela Smart murder trial.

"First, representing yourself period is not a good idea," Sisti said. "I don't care if it is for a simple misdemeanor or a felony. It's a poor decision. The U.S. Constitution and the national courts systems clearly indicate that everyone has the right to representation when their liberty is at risk."

Sisti said he sees it as particularly dangerous for Brave to defend himself in the same court he is accused of defrauding by lying about his finances and the same court that will hear his trial for allegedly stealing from Strafford County.

"The crux of the matter here is a hard twist," Sisti said. "He is charged with directly misrepresenting himself to the court before his trial even starts. And the same court ordered him to hire an attorney. This is a dangerous situation."

Sisti said he has seen cases over his career where defendants choose to represent themselves.

"The results are generally not good," he said. "The reason we go to law school is so we can do better for our clients. I am sure Mark Brave is intelligent, and he probably knows the law system better than many people. But is he as prepared as a lawyer will be? I think it runs afoul of common sense. In a situation like this, you need to weigh the risk/benefit equation. Does this action help me or not?"

If the attorney general's motion to revoke Brave's bail is successful Tuesday, he could be sent to jail as he awaits trial.

Details of the allegations against Brave

Brave is accused by prosecutors of using his share of the money he received from the sale of his Dover home for $1.15 million to buy a Porsche rather than pay for a lawyer.

In a motion to revoke bail, the state alleges that in September, Brave informed the court of his new address on First Street in Dover. He asked the court to amend the bail agreement to allow him to travel outside New Hampshire to Massachusetts, where his daughter attends school and the request was granted. Brave said he was living in Dover, noting he had an apartment in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, but stating he did not live there.

At a hearing on Oct. 26, Brave told the court he was not able to secure an attorney and asked for a public defender to be assigned to him. He said Shaheen & Gordon, the law firm that previously represented him, had quoted him a retainer of $75,000-$100,000 to secure its services.

In seeking a court-appointed attorney, Brave stated he had $5,000 available ($4,000 cash on hand and $1,000 in savings accounts). He said his monthly income was $4,939.62 in salary/wages from full-time employment with Strafford County. Brave submitted the following liabilities: $4,500 per month in rent; $400 per month in utilities; student loan payments of $60 per month ($10,000 still owed); car payments of $385 per month ($9,400 still owed); $250 per month for a cellphone and $800 per month in groceries.

Brave told the court he had recently sold his house, valued at $980,000. According to a court document, he initially reported he received $190,000 from this sale, but crossed this number out and changed it to $3,500. In his remarks, Brave stated he was “using the money from the sale of the house to pay back taxes, debt his wife and he acquired, and tuition for 2 out of 3 kids.”

A video of Mark Brave with a Porsche obtained by prosecutors and an interview with Jaime Brave, his wife, undercut a number of his claims, according to the attorney general.

On Oct. 27, according to the attorney general, the state received a video from the Strafford County sheriff’s office. The video shows a vintage vehicle in a garage – a 1968 Porsche 356 soft-top convertible with “saddle leather” interior – accompanied by Brave’s narration, stating that the vehicle “just arrived,” the attorney general states. The encoding date for the video was Oct. 17 at 9:50 a.m. – five days after the parties received notice of the bail order in Brave's case. The GPS location of the video’s creation was 640 South St., Tewksbury, Massachusetts, according to the attorney general.

In an interview in November, Jaime Brave, who is divorcing Mark Brave, told investigators her husband did not live at the Dover address, and she thought he was living in Tewksbury, according to the attorney general. She said she and Mark Brave each received $240,000 from the sale of their home, and he had received her Mercedes SUV (which was under his name) as part of their separation. She said he only paid tuition for his daughter – not for either of her two children.

On Nov. 7, the landlords for the Tewksbury address, Jay and Denise Bonugli, confirmed Brave lived there, having paid a year in rent and security at $4,100 per month, totaling $53,300. As sheriff, he is required by law to reside in New Hampshire, the attorney general stated.

The attorney general alleges Brave has been paid $10,761.10 while on paid leave and living in Massachusetts. By not living in New Hampshire, the attorney general argues, "he was ineligible to hold the office of high sheriff of Strafford County" and "he fraudulently obtained in excess of $10,000."

Further, the state argues Brave lied to the court under oath about his address, making the case for criminal contempt.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Sheriff Mark Brave's alleged lies could land him in jail before trial