Charges dropped against dad in landlord-tenant flap

Richard Stuart Sr.

MILTON - It looks like Richard Stuart Sr. will be able to hunt once again after all.

The Milton man who sought to intercede on his son’s behalf last September after he got into an altercation with a tenant saw his misdemeanor charges dropped by the Strafford County Attorney’s Office.

Strafford County Attorney Tom Velardi confirmed to The Lebanon Voice today that all charges against Richard Stuart Sr., 80, of Milton have been vacated.

Richard “Buddy” Stuart Jr., his son, still faces felony reckless charges in the incident for discharging his weapon during the fracas, which occurred at Stuart’s Woodworking and Design, where Stuart Jr. maintains a woodshop business and rental units above the shop.

Stuart Jr. says he fired the weapon harmlessly over Milton Three Ponds in an effort to avert an impending scuffle between his woodshop employees and the tenant. The tenant says the gun was pointed at him when Stuart Jr. fired.

Stuart Sr. who formerly ran a convenience store and butcher shop at the corner of White Mountain Highway and Garage Way where Helping Hands now stands, drove from his Milton home the day of the incident and wheeled into the parking lot at the former Ray’s Marina to try to assist his son, who was already in handcuffs in a cruiser.

Stuart Sr. was alleged to have driven recklessly into the parking lot endangering individuals in close proximity to his car.

He was charged with felony reckless conduct, which meant that if found guilty, he would not be able to go hunting as he always loved, lamented his son, recently. A convicted felon cannot be in possession of a firearm.

Both the Stuarts’ felony charges were conditionally reduced to misdemeanors last month, but when Stuart Jr. refused a plea deal with prosecutors which would have put him in jail for two months, it was thought his father’s charge might be changed back to a felony as well. Stuart Jr. was indicted on his felony charge last week, but it is presumed the grand jury decided not to indict Stuart Sr. and all charges have now been officially dropped, Velardi said.

 “I know it doesn’t look good for me, but at least they got it right for my dad,” Stuart Jr. said last week.