New Hampshire man arrested for allegedly hitting teens’ vehicle ‘purposefully,’ pretending to be a U.S. marshal

Nashua police arrested a 38-year-old man Tuesday for allegedly causing a car crash “purposefully” and then pretending to be a U.S. marshal, among other alleged crimes.

Jeremy McKenna, of Nashua, is facing multiple charges, including three counts of felony reckless conduct and one count of misdemeanor criminal mischief, police said in a press release. 

On Oct. 10, two juvenile victims told officers that a male driver, who was later identified as McKenna, allegedly “purposefully” hit their vehicle with his, police said. In doing so, he allegedly drove them off the road on East Hollis Street and caused a crash.

After the crash, police said, McKenna allegedly told the victims he was a law enforcement officer and threatened them with a rock and stick. The victims told police that he allegedly threw the rock and damaged the windshield of their vehicle before driving off.

The victims contacted their parents, who drove to them, police said. When the parents found McKenna, he allegedly drove into their vehicle, causing a second crash. Officers identified McKenna as the suspect and arrested him soon after. 

Further investigation revealed that, in an unrelated incident on Oct. 8, McKenna allegedly rammed another vehicle with his before leaving the scene of the crash, police said. Additionally, he was allegedly out on bail after being arrested on Oct. 4 for another unrelated incident. 

No one was injured in any of the crashes, police said. In addition to the reckless conduct and criminal mischief charges, they charged McKenna with one count of impersonating a police officer, three counts of conduct after an accident, two counts of criminal threatening, and one count of breach of bail.

At McKenna’s arraignment Wednesday, Hillsborough County prosecutor Michele Battaglia said he made a U-turn in his SUV to be able to pull up beside the victims, who were both in their teens.

Additionally, the prosecutor alleged, he identified himself as a U.S. marshal and accused the teens of having drugs in their Honda Accord before ordering them to get out of the car, WMUR reported.

McKenna’s defense attorney said at the arraignment that McKenna’s mental health has been affected by “stress at work,” the news station reported.

“I think the police report reflects that his recollection of what happened differs significantly from the alleged victims’ recollections,” she said. “…He recognizes that his own mental health played a role in escalating the situation.”