U.S. Marshals Arrest Highly Sought NH Fugitive of the Week in Vermont

Concord, NH – Late last evening the U.S. Marshals arrested fugitive Douglas Carl Smith, Jr., 31 years-of-age, in West Charleston, Vermont. Smith was being sought on multiple outstanding arrest warrants out of New Hampshire including; aggravated felonious sexual assault, 2nd degree assault, bail violations on underlying offenses for being a felon in possession of a dangerous weapon and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, failing to register as a sex offender, and lastly voting fraud. A new additional fraud charge was filed against Smith yesterday in Vermont by the Essex County Sheriff's Department.

Smith was a highly sought fugitive, who had been featured both as the New Hampshire "Fugitive of the Week" and featured multiple times nationwide on the television program Live PD: Wanted. It was as a result of the countless tips and the hard work of investigators that led to Smith’s ultimate capture in West Charleston, VT shortly before 6 PM last night. Smith was located outside of a residence in the 1700 block of Hudson Road, where he had been staying with friends while using the name "Robert". Smith initially complied with commands, but once he figured out that he was about to be arrested he resisted attempts to place him in handcuffs. Smith was quickly subdued with a Taser and handcuffed by the task force without any further incident.

Smith had been featured as the "Fugitive of the Week" on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 and aired multiple times on the program Live PD: Wanted. The "Fugitive of the Week" feature was aired on WTPL-FM, WMUR-TV, The Union Leader, The Nashua Telegraph, The Patch, Foster's Daily Democrat, Manchester Information, the Manchester Ink Link, the Rochester Voice and prominently featured on the internet. The "Fugitive of the Week" continues to be a very successful tool that has resulted in the location and arrest of numerous fugitives since its implementation in 2007. Additionally, the "Fugitive of the Week" is distributed statewide to all law enforcement officers.

This arrest was made by members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, including members from the following agencies; the Belknap (New Hampshire), Essex (Vermont), Rockingham (New Hampshire) and; Strafford (New Hampshire) County Sheriff's Offices, deputy US Marshals from both New Hampshire and Vermont with assistance from the Vermont State Police. The extensive -investigation leading up to the arrest of Smith involved countless other law enforcement agencies including, but not limited to; New Hampshire State Police, Hillsborough County (New Hampshire) Sheriff's Office, as well as the Concord, Claremont, Newport & Warner Police Departments as well as countless others.

U.S. Marshal Nick Willard said, "This arrest is an example of the dedication and commitment of federal, state and local law enforcement working collaboratively to keep our citizens safe by removing a dangerous individual from the community".

Since the inception of the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force in 2002, these partnerships have resulted in over 7,908 arrests (Updated as of 12/16/2019). These arrests have ranged in seriousness from murder, assault, unregistered sex offenders, probation and parole violations and numerous other serious offenses. Nationally the United States Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive task forces, 8 regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.