In a bizarre double-offense incident, Richard Ruddy, a 35-year-old man from Lancaster, New Hampshire, saw himself in handcuffs twice within a span of three hours after causing havoc at the local Big Apple Store, police officials confirmed.
Initial confrontation with law enforcement occurred when Ruddy, for reasons still unclear, launched into a disruptive tantrade at the Main Street convenience store around 10 p.m. Thursday, as captured on surveillance footage – flinging items and toppling shelves before law enforcement responded to the cashier's activated panic button, arriving at the scene in a prompt five minutes, WCVB reports. Ruddy was taken into custody after he reportedly threw a carton of cigarettes at an officer, leading to his arrest and subsequent charge of criminal mischief, with the police making it clear through stringent bail conditions that he was to stay away from the store.
But Ruddy apparently disregarded those conditions, and shortly after his release, he found himself back at the Big Apple Store site, police said, as per a report by WHDH. On this occasion, at approximately 12:57 a.m. Friday, he rammed his car into the storefront, this aggressive move happened despite no individuals being in the store at the time, resulting in a quick follow-up arrest.
"This business is our only 24-hour business in town, and with the holiday weekend, they're going to lose a lot of money," Lancaster’s police Chief Jonathan Woodworth told reporters, underscoring the consequence of the store's forced closure and revealing sentiments of community disquiet the incident has generated, Ruddy is now held under preventive detention and Woodworth added, "As long as he's being held, I can say he's no danger to society, everyone is safe from this individual as long as he's being held" ensuring the townspeople of Ruddy's containment. The charges against the repeat offender have expanded to include disorderly conduct, breach of bail conditions twice, both criminal trespass and criminal mischief; his judicial reckoning awaits at the Coos County House of Corrections pending a hearing in the 1st Circuit Lancaster District Court.
