[Airwaves]

I have stayed out of the fray until now.

I just want to point out that based on what has been written by Skip quoting NH Media at the end of July, and based on a conversation I had with a colleague who works the NH beat prior to the article in the Citizen. I think it's reasonable to assume that the NHMP has decided to seek an indictment.

Why do I say this? The accident occurred on Father's Day and we are now approaching Labor Day. If it were a cut and dry case one way or the other an arraignment would have had already happened or the case would have had already been closed.

I don't know the indictment process in NH so don't jump all over me if the NHMP isn't the agency that legally seeks an indictment.

So I would speculate...there's that word again...that if anyone knows the schedule of the Grand Jury and how and when indiictments are handed down and released, that is the time table to be looking at.

Of course just because an indictment is sought before a Grand Jury it doesn't mean an indictment is automatically handed down, pretty close to it but not automatic.

It's been my experience in MA that indictments are sought to speed up the process of charging someone with a serious crime not to slow the process down unless the evidence is not concrete and the prosecution wants a "second opinon" so to speak.

I am sure Skip or others will correct me if I'm wrong about how it works in NH, but as I understand the process, if you are brought before a Grand Jury as the target of an investigation the prosecutiion lays out its evidence but the target doesn't have defense counsel present and it's all done in secret, closed to the public. It's a one way argument and usually the prosecution gets the indictment.

On the other hand if a person is arraigned in court shortly after the "offense" and pleads not guilty a "probable cause" court hearing is scheduled. That hearing is open to the public, defense is there and presents prelimiary arguments as well as the prosecution and the magistrate or judge decides if there is "probable cause" to proceed to trial.

I may have skipped a step or two but that's the jist of it as I understand the process.

So, because no one has dropped the case declaring that there was no crime and this was just a terrible accident but no one has been arrested or arraigned, I will draw the SPECULATIVE conclusion that at this point it's going to end up before a Grand Jury.

BTW, if there was a gun I doubt that it would be entered into evidence because to my knowledge there was no gunplay. Many merchants that deal in cash carry guns, even in Mass!