Simulated explosives at bank, stolen car: Dover, Rollinsford, Durham incidents end in arrest.
Rollinsford police have charged a Dover man with leaving simulated explosives — described as a "refrigerator compressor with red wires protruding from it" — at a TD Bank ATM at 29 Weeks Lane near the Dover-Rollinsford line Thursday.
The same man, Darek Chamberlain, 27, was arrested later in the day on several unrelated charges in Durham, where he was pulled over in a car police allege was stolen.
The incident at the TD Bank ATM resulted in the bank and nearby Cleary Cleaners in Dover being evacuated as a precaution Thursday before police determined the "suspicious package" was not an explosive.
Previous story: Dover's TD Bank, Cleary Cleaners evacuated due to suspicious package
Explosive device found on top of ATM
The alleged simulated explosive was found sitting on top of the ATM by a bank employee Thursday morning while preparing to open the location, according to Rollinsford police.
It caused alarm and multiple local law enforcement agencies rushed to investigate. Court documents describe the objects as a "round black metal tank 8 to 10 inches in diameter, with a red wire sticking out of the side of it. There was yellow tape with the word 'Caution' affixed to the device."
Rollinsford Police Chief Jonathan Uraskevich said it resembled an improvised explosive device, but the New Hampshire State Police Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit determined "it did not contain any explosives." A manufacturer's sticker on the object helped police identify it.
Police pulled surveillance footage from the bank, which showed a man walk up to the ATM with the device and set it on top of the ATM around 4:20 a.m.
Uraskevich said the footage shows Chamberlain's face. The Rollinsford chief said Chamberlain was wearing the same clothes when he was arrested in Durham later Thursday and also during an incident the night before, when Dover police made contact with him.
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According to Uraskevich and court documents, Dover police recognized Chamberlain from the footage. Hours earlier, Dover police had responded to Thompson Tavern on Central Avenue for a disturbance around midnight. He was not arrested or charged with a crime at that time.
The Dover Police Department, Dover Fire Department, New Hampshire State Police, and Durham Police Department assisted in the case.
"It was an excellent job from all departments, and on the bank employee's part in doing their due diligence every morning. I give a lot of credit to her for paying attention and asking, 'That doesn't look right, why is that there?'" Uraskevich said.
Unrelated charges in Durham
Thursday afternoon, Dover police notified neighboring departments about a stolen vehicle. Durham Police Chief Rene Kelley said while his team started to monitor the main routes into Durham, they spotted the vehicle that night. The vehicle's license plate was covered by a thin sheet of paper that was translucent, allowing police to identify it as the same vehicle that was reported stolen an hour prior, according to a police affidavit filed in court.
Kelley said the vehicle, driven by Chamberlain, did not immediately stop when officers attempted to pull it over along Route 108, and he was arrested when he stopped. Police allege he had a small pouch in his pocket that "contained two small plastic baggies, one that contained a white crystal substance and one that was labelled 'E' and contained a small square blue pill," the affidavit states.
Chamberlain was charged with the possession of a controlled drug, receiving stolen property, driving after suspension, and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, in addition to the charges in Rollinsford. Chamberlain remained in custody, being held in preventative detention at the Strafford County Jail, pending his arraignment Friday.
Chamberlain is represented by a public defender in both cases. An attempt to reach to the public defender's office was not immediately successful.
This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Simulated explosives at bank, stolen car: Dover man arrested in Durham
