Spofford man gets jail sentence on domestic violence charges
Apr. 22—A Spofford man was sentenced to a year in jail Wednesday after pleading guilty to three felony domestic-violence charges, according to court records.
Colby A. Howard, 21, was also sentenced to an additional year of electronic monitoring and three years of probation, along with a suspended prison sentence of 3 1/2 to seven years, pursuant to a plea agreement.
The charges Howard pleaded guilty to in Cheshire County Superior Court alleged he choked a woman with his hands and a pair of pajama pants on one occasion last year, and with a pillow on another.
Howard has worked as a Spofford firefighter and at the Keene-based dispatching organization Southwestern N.H. District Fire Mutual Aid.
Spofford Fire Chief Steve Dumont said Howard was suspended when he was charged in this case and terminated after pleading guilty. Mutual Aid Chief Joe Sangermano said in February, after Howard was indicted, that Howard was working for the organization part time as a dispatcher and full time outfitting emergency vehicles. Sangermano could not be reached for comment Wednesday. In a sentencing memo, Howard's attorney, Richard Guerriero, wrote that Howard had maintained employment at Mutual Aid while his case was pending.
Sentinel staff writer Jack Rooney contributed reporting.
Paul Cuno-Booth can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1409, or pbooth@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter
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