Methuen Man, 47, Hospitalized After 108 MPH Chase Ends in Dover Standoff

A 47-year-old Methuen, Massachusetts man was hospitalized early Thursday after New Hampshire State Police say he sped away from a traffic stop at 108 mph on I-95, triggering a pursuit that ended in a standoff outside a Dover business where troopers deployed nonlethal munitions and a K-9 to get him out of his car.

Steven Jones was driving a black 2018 Hyundai Elantra northbound on I-95 in Greenland around 1:29 a.m. Thursday when Trooper Patrick Vetter of the New Hampshire State Police Troop A barracks initiated a stop, according to the New Hampshire State Police. Jones initially pulled over but then sped off, police say, prompting Vetter to pursue him onto the Spaulding Turnpike and eventually to a private business parking lot on Central Avenue in Dover. As MassLive reports, troopers say Jones hit 108 mph on the New Hampshire highway during the pursuit.

Once cornered in the parking lot, Jones refused to show a driver's license or exit his vehicle, according to police. Troopers surrounded the car, deployed a K-9, and ultimately fired nonlethal munitions, which caused Jones to get out of the car, per the state police account. He remained uncooperative even after exiting, according to the same report, before troopers took him into custody.

Hospital Trip Follows Standoff

Jones was brought to a hospital following the encounter, though the specific reason for the hospitalization was not detailed in the state police account. He was later booked at the Strafford County Jail.

The charge sheet against Jones is extensive. Police charged him with armed career criminal and aggravated DWI, along with felony reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, convicted felon in possession, 10 misdemeanor counts, and a violation-level reckless operation charge, according to the New Hampshire State Police. In total, that amounts to more than a dozen charges including resisting arrest, per the state police.

Jones was ordered held in preventive detention without bail at the Strafford County Jail pending his initial court appearances in Portsmouth and Dover District Courts, according to the state police.

What the Top Charge Could Mean

The armed career criminal charge is the most severe count Jones faces. Under New Hampshire's RSA 159:3-a, a conviction carries a sentence of up to 40 years in state prison and fines as high as $25,000 for people found with firearms after three prior qualifying felony convictions, according to the New Hampshire General Court statute. However, the state's high court set a specific bar for prosecutors to clear: the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in State v. Folds that the armed career criminal statute applies only when a defendant's three qualifying prior convictions stem from separate criminal episodes, rather than multiple charges arising from a single past arrest.

The aggravated DWI charge also carries defined consequences. Under RSA 265-A:3, driving 30 mph or more over the speed limit or eluding police while impaired elevates a DWI to a Class A misdemeanor, which carries mandatory jail time of at least five days, fines up to $2,000, and a minimum 18-month license revocation.

A Familiar Stretch of Highway

This is not the first time Troop A has chased a driver at extreme speed on this stretch of I-95. Just three weeks earlier, on August 7, troopers arrested an 18-year-old Massachusetts driver following a pursuit on I-95 North in Greenland that began after the vehicle was recorded going over 100 mph, according to the New Hampshire State Police. Hoodline previously reported on a similar case involving Belmont teens charged after a 100 mph chase through the same corridor.

The pattern extends back further. During a Memorial Day enforcement push in May 2024 along I-95 in Greenland and Hampton, state police caught 52 drivers going 90 mph or faster, including eight topping 100 mph, per the state police statistics. That same month, Maine State Police pursued a driver going over 90 mph across state lines into Greenland, where New Hampshire troopers used aerial observers to help coordinate a ground stop. And in July 2024, a Massachusetts driver topping 100 mph on I-95 in Portsmouth led troopers on a pursuit into Maine that ended only after the suspect struck a state police cruiser, according to the agency.

Open questions remain about what specific prior convictions establish Jones's status as an armed career criminal, exactly what transpired during the standoff in the Dover parking lot beyond the use of the K-9 and nonlethal munitions, and how the case will proceed through Strafford County courts. New Hampshire State Police have asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the agency.