Man charged with aiding pair accused of murder

Thursday, November 26, 2009

By DEAN SHALHOUP

Staff Writer

MILFORD – The arrest of 20-year-old Autumn Savoy of Hollis last week brings to five the number of young men charged in connection with the Oct. 4 home invasion and murder in Mont Vernon.

Savoy, who is charged with two counts of hindering apprehension or prosecution and one count of conspiracy to hinder apprehension or prosecution, all Class B felonies, was arrested Nov. 18.

Due to jurisdictional issues involving where the crimes he is charged with allegedly took place, he was arraigned on the first two charges in Milford District Court on Nov. 18, and arraigned in Nashua District Court the following day on the conspiracy charge.

Savoy’s bail was set at $100,000 cash or surety, the amount requested by Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinckley, who is prosecuting the case.

Because the charges are felonies, Savoy entered no plea at the arraignments. He will get a chance to address the charges at probable cause hearings currently scheduled for Dec. 1 in Milford and Dec. 3 in Nashua. However, Hinckley said he would file a motion to consolidate the Nashua charge with the other two and transfer jurisdiction to Milford District Court.

In response to a question following the Nashua arraignment, Hinckley wouldn’t comment on whether Savoy was cooperating with prosecutors to provide information about the other four defendants.

On Oct. 6, two days after 42-year-old Kimberly Cates was murdered and her 11-year-old daughter, Jaimie, 11, was seriously injured in their Trow Road home, two of Savoy’s friends – Brookline residents Steven Spader, 18, and Christopher Gribble, 20 – were arrested along with Amherst residents Quinn Glover, 18, and Williams Marks, 18, in connection with the early morning murder and assault.

Prosecutors have said that all four suspects broke into the Cates’ house on Trow Road at about 4 a.m. Oct. 4, having agreed in advance that they would kill anyone they found inside. The four picked the house because it was remote and relatively isolated, prosecutors said.

Spader and Gribble are charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. Marks and Glover are charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary and robbery.

Prosecutors allege in one of the counts that Savoy acted in concert with Spader and Gribble to conceal or destroy physical evidence that may have led to their arrests.

On the second count, Hinckley alleged that Savoy agreed to provide an alibi for Spader and Gribble, and did so by telling investigators the two had spent the night of Oct. 3 and most of Oct. 4 at Savoy’s house. The invasion took place around 4 a.m. Oct. 4.

During that time, Hinckley also alleges Savoy helped Spader and Gribble search the Internet for news stories or other mention of the crime.

The conspiracy charge alleges that Savoy helped Spader and Gribble bag clothing they allegedly wore during the assaults and items stolen from the Cates home, then helped them dispose of the bag or bags in the Nashua River in Hollis.

Hinckley added that after the items were tossed into the river, Savoy “disrobed in order to jump into the water after the evidence,” but wouldn’t say why he did so.

Savoy lives at 88 Runnells Bridge Road, also known as Route 111, which is less than a quarter-mile from the Nashua River’s popular fishing spot and boat ramp where Runnells Bridge and Depot roads meet.

Several days after the Mont Vernon incident, neighbors reported police had set up canopies and appeared to be collecting evidence near the boat ramp. Officials didn’t say what, if anything, they found at the time.

Savoy has been in trouble before, mostly in connection with incidents at Hollis/Brookline High School when he was a student.

In April 2008, he was arrested on school grounds for possession of a controlled substance after three students overdosed on prescription medication within a week.

Savoy was charged in connection with the overdoses. A Nashua District Court judge sentenced him to six months of jail time, deferred for two years based on good behavior and drug counseling.

The following February, police arrested Savoy for misdemeanor criminal mischief, accusing him of scratching the word “fag” into a Mitsubishi Lancer parked at high school and causing roughly $500 in damages.

Police didn’t consider the vandalism a hate crime because, Lt. James Sartell said at the time, “the car belonged to a friend of the victim, but he (Savoy) didn’t know it.” During his arrest, Savoy reportedly told police, “I was having a bad day.”

Savoy, an average-size youth with a crew cut and lip ring, wore a gray University of Vermont hooded sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers as bailiffs and a State Police trooper escorted him into the Milford courtroom last week.

He stood alone at the defense table – he’d yet to hire a lawyer or be assigned a public defender – as Crocker read the charges.

During a recess at Wednesday’s arraignment in Milford, Savoy turned in his chair to speak to his mother and another woman seated in the front row and broke into tears.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he sobbed, as the two women also began to cry.

“I wish I could fix it honey, but I can’t,” his mom responded through tears.

In addressing the bail amount, Hinckley said that while Savoy has the drug possession and criminal mischief convictions to his name, his record shows he didn’t miss any court appearances.

“Still, given the serious nature of this crime and the charges against him, I feel $100,000 is an appropriate bail amount,” Hinckley said.

When Crocker asked Savoy if he understood the bail process, the youth paused before speaking.

“Well, I do, but I honestly think that’s a bit excessive,” he told Crocker. “There’s no way I can make that (amount of bail). I’ve never gone anywhere, I’ve always been in court when I was supposed to be.” After Crocker acknowledged his comments, Savoy continued, addressing the charges against him.

“I wasn’t trying to do anything wrong,” he said, his voice breaking. “I was just scared. … I didn’t know what to do. I just did what I was told,” he said.

At his arraignment in Nashua on Friday, Savoy – dressed in an orange Hillsborough County jail jumpsuit and now represented by an attorney – showed little emotion.