At Keene District court today Patrick Shields, a resident of Keene, was put on trial by the State for charges stemming from the April 13th Court Lobby incident. At the start of the trial Patrick was informed that the Disorderly Conduct charge was being dropped leaving only the Resisting Arrest charge on the docket.
The trial was very similar to the two held on Monday, July 27 where David Krouse and Nick Ryder faced charges of Disorderly Conduct from the same incident. Police Prosecutor Eli Rivera provided the State’s Testimony, repeating the same statements heard Monday. Mr. Shields’ argument focused on the fact that Officer Rivera, the arresting officer per the summons, had no physical contact with Mr. Shields and because of this there was nothing to resist as far as a physical arrest.
Patrick also testified that his thought process at the time, given the situation, provided him with one moral option. He chose to attain a purely passive state and not interact with the Officers.
Judge Edward Burke first congratulated Mr. Shields on his preparation for the trial and then found him guilty. The punishment handed down was a $1000 fine – suspended. Should Patrick be convicted of a Class B or greater misdemeanor or a felony within the next year he will have to pay the fine or serve roughly 20 days in jail.
