Crime & Safety

Alleged Car Thief Faces New Charge – This One's a Felony

James Paul was stopped in the act of stealing a car by that car's owner, who was armed. Now, he faces a felony for damaging his holding cell.

A man charged with attempting to steal a car from another man in a hospital parking lot Dec. 17 faces new, stiffer charges, police said. 

James Paul, 33, of Amherst, now faces a charge of interference with fire apparatus, after ripping the sprinkler from his holding cell overnight, according to Nashua Lt. Denis Linehan. That charge is a class B felony.

Paul was arrested Tuesday after he was allegedly caught in the act of stealing a car from the parking lot across from Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, next to the CVS on Main Street. The owner of the car, identified by police as Paul Jensen, 51, of Nashua, found Paul inside his car attempting to drive away. Jensen, who is a licensed gun owner and has a permit to carry,  confronted Paul by pulling a pistol on him, and held the gun to Paul until police arrived. 

Police showed up in force after getting a call that there was a man holding a gun to another man's head in the parking lot. They locked off the area and set up a perimeter, not knowing what kind of situation they were walking into, Linehan said.

Police swiftly assessed the situation and arrested Paul, who was initially charged with unauthorized use of a propelled vehicle, a misdemeanor.

Linehan explained that the law in New Hampshire is such that if police can't prove someone in the act of stealing a vehicle is doing so with the intention of "depriving the owner of that vehicle," it's a misdemeanor.

"In Massachusetts it would be grand theft auto, but here in New Hampshire, when you steal a car and dump it somewhere else, unless police can prove someone was looking to chop up the car for parts, it's called unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. In this case we couldn't prove he was going to use the car for anything but to go from point a to point b, so it's a misdemeanor," Linehan said.

"We're one of the few states that has that law," Linehan said. "However, the new charge, for tampering with the sprinkler, is a class B felony." 


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