• North Carolina man denied bail in Gardner truck burning



Dennis C. Connor stands with attorney Alexandra Yurgenson during his arraignment Tuesday in Gardner District Court. T&G Photo/Paula Owen
• Correction
  This story has been amended to correct the mane of Mr. Connor's lawyer.
• 
  

  By Paula J. Owen
  Telegram & Gazette Staff
  

  
  Posted Jul. 22, 2016 at 11:10 PM
  Updated Jul 23, 2016 at 2:27 PM
  
  
  

  GARDNER – A North Carolina man who allegedly torched two vehicles and threatened to videotape himself killing his wife and her boyfriend and then post the video on the internet, was held without bail following his dangerousness hearing Friday afternoon.

  Dennis C. Connor, 47, of Balsam Grove, North Carolina, is charged with armed home invasion, two counts of burning a motor vehicle, assault on a family or household member, armed assault in a dwelling, assault with a dangerous weapon and carrying a firearm without a license.

  Police arrested Mr. Connor after he followed his estranged wife from North Carolina to 99 Graham St. and then set his Toyota pickup truck on fire after hitting another vehicle at the residence.

  In Gardner District Court Friday afternoon, Assistant District Attorney Michael Sheridan said witnesses told police Mr. Connor allegedly planned to draw his estranged wife and her boyfriend outside by blowing up the boyfriend’s car, fatally shoot them while videotaping the incident and post the video on YouTube to “show people what happens when you cheat with another man’s wife.” Inside the house police found a 12-gauge shotgun they say Mr. Connor brought with him when he traveled to Gardner.

  By blowing up his wife’s boyfriend’s car, Mr. Sheridan said Mr. Connor planned to allegedly “lure them outside” at which point he allegedly told witnesses he would “put a bullet in his wife’s head as well as her boyfriend’s.” Mr. Connor allegedly told friends and family members that the couple’s son had issues from their relationship and that he had “nothing to live for without his wife,” Mr. Sheridan said.

  Mr. Connor’s son, who declined to give a reporter his name, was in the courtroom. He said he had driven 20 hours to support his father and that the police were only provided his mother’s side of the story. He said Mr. Connor followed his wife to Massachusetts because she had driven the son’s truck from North Carolina without his permission.
  

  When Mr. Connor was brought into the courtroom in handcuffs, he and his son quietly mouthed words to each other and began passing notes through Mr. Connor’s lawyer Alexandra Yurgenson. At one point, Mr. Connor started crying and looked down at the floor.

  Mr. Sheridan said Mr. Connor’s alleged plot did not go as planned. Mr. Connor set his own truck on fire, which also burned the boyfriend's vehicle, he said. Mr. Connor's wife also held the door shut with her back against it, long enough for the boyfriend to hide, he said. By the time Mr. Connor forced his way in, the boyfriend was hiding in a third-floor closet. Unable to find him before police and firefighters arrived, Mr. Connor left the gun in the basement of the building, climbed out a rear window and hid in the bushes, police said.

  Police surrounded the house and Mr. Connor's wife managed to get out of the building. Mr. Connor then came out of the bushes with his hands up and surrendered, police said.

  In arguing to hold Mr. Connor without bail, Mr. Sheridan said there was no way to ensure the public’s safety if he was released. Mr. Sheridan said that Mr. Connor has a five-page record dating back to the 1980s and 1990s that included “assaultive behavior,” property destruction, disorderly conduct and restraining orders.

  Mr. Sheridan said the “explosive nature of his behavior” July 16 put not only the lives of his wife and her boyfriend in jeopardy, but also those of neighbors and law enforcement officials. Mr. Sheridan asserted that Mr. Connor’s actions were premeditated and family members he allegedly told of his plans were so concerned they alerted Gardner police.

  The incident was allegedly not the first time Mr. Connor’s followed his wife up from North Carolina, Mr. Sheridan said.

  Police said they were told the incident started in May when Mr. Connor's wife traveled to Gardner to visit her boyfriend. Mr. Connor followed her to Gardner and he confronted her. After trying unsuccessfully to convince him their marriage was over, she finally agreed to return with him for the sake of their son. She told police once back in North Carolina they argued constantly. Sick of it, she took their pickup truck and drove to Gardner on Thursday. Mr. Connor followed on Friday and went to the house to confront her and her boyfriend on Saturday.

  In arguing for bail, Ms. Yurgenson said Mr. Connor suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in the military and was receiving veteran’s benefits. She said the last time Mr. Connor was involved in the court system was in 1997.

  “It’s true he has a record, but they were all dismissed,” Ms. Yurgenson said. “He is not a violent man.”

  She said Mr. Connor’s son told her there was no history of violence between his parents and he did not hear his father speak of any plans to kill his mother and her boyfriend.

  She said the son told her Mr. Connor went to the Gardner residence to speak to his wife and Mr. Connor said he allegedly saw her new boyfriend with a firearm.

  Running into the boyfriend’s truck was an “accident,” Ms. Yurgenson said, and added that Mr. Connor voluntarily surrendered himself.

  She said there are “multiple ways” to ensure the public’s safety, including GPS monitoring, and to make sure Mr. Connor stayed in Massachusetts.

  However, Judge Arthur F. Haley III said given Mr. Connor’s record, prior convictions and history of prior restraining orders, the “defendant is dangerous” and that there is clear and convincing evidence no conditions could ensure public safety if he was released.

  He is due back in court Aug. 18.