No charges in intruder shooting

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A Rochester man who fatally shot a home intruder was justified in using deadly force and won’t face criminal charges, the attorney general’s office said on Friday.

Geoffrey Hamann, 28, killed Bryan Gaedtke, 21, with a single shot to the chest early on the morning of Sept. 15. Gaedtke – naked, climbing the roof of the Hamann house and holding a tube of lubricant – had tried to break into other houses and ignored repeated warnings from Hamann to leave, authorities said.

Police believe Gaedtke had been drinking and may have used drugs that night.

Hamann first spotted a man on his property around 1:45 a.m. and shouted at him to leave. When he was ignored, Hamann flashed an unloaded gun. But the intruder kept climbing, shouting, “I’m coming in to get you,” according to the attorney general.

Elderly man now fit to face trial

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – An elderly Lyndeborough man has recovered enough from mental illness to go on trial on charges he tried to kill his wife, a judge has ruled.

Peter Gage, 71, is accused of beating and verbally abusing his wife, Mary, 76, for decades. He was found incompetent in May and ordered committed for treatment.

This week, after hearing from the psychiatrist who treated Gage, Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge Carol Ann Conboy concluded Gage is rational enough to participate in his trial.

Teacher faces child porn charges

EPSOM, N.H. (AP) – An area music teacher has been charged with six counts of child pornography, and police are asking for help identifying some of the photographed children.

Police say they believe Thomas Rand, 53, knew the children in the images.

Authorities began investigating about a year ago when a woman called the Merrimack County Sheriff’s office and reported that her 39-year-old son had been sexually assaulted by Rand nearly 27 years earlier when Rand taught music in Epsom, the Concord Monitor reported Friday.

Police obtained a search warrant for Rand’s Epsom home and discovered child pornography there, said Susan Larrabee of the Merrimack County Attorney’s office. Larrabee said police believe Rand made the pornography over many years using children he knew. The statute of limitations prevents authorities from charging Rand with manufacturing child pornography, Larrabee said.

Anyone with information about Rand’s alleged illegal activity should call the Merrimack County Sheriff’s office at (603) 225-5583, extension 127.