Police say a potential tragedy was averted Wednesday night when an armed man was taken into custody before he could follow through on violent threats he made against his girlfriend.
Hampton Police Chief Alex Reno said police arrested Wondens Valmont, 22, of Keene, on the charges of domestic violence and criminal threatening with a firearm, a Class A felony, following reports he threatened to harm his girlfriend. Police said there is evidence Wondens was living in the Hampton area with his girlfriend.
Reno said at 9:15 p.m. on May 10, Hampton police received a call from the Hampton-based youth facility Mount Prospect Academy reporting a threat against one of its staff members.
“Third-party callers reported a boyfriend of an employee stated he is going to go to the school and kill his girlfriend with a gun,” Reno said.
Reno said officers on the night shift immediately responded, forming a perimeter around the academy to watch for and stop Valmont. They located him walking toward the building, Reno said, and officers opened a line of communication with him.
Surrounding Valmont, officers were able to take him into custody in the vicinity of 293 Lafayette Road without a shot being fired, police said.
Police found both a firearm and ammunition on Valmont at that time, giving them probable cause to charge him with felony-level domestic violence and criminal threatening, Reno said. Valmont was held overnight in preventative detention at Rockingham County Jail.
“I am incredibly proud and impressed at the job our team did last night to prevent what could have been a very dangerous situation that could have ended in tragedy,” Reno said.
Valmont was scheduled for arraignment at Rockingham Superior Court at 1 p.m. on Thursday. It was not immediately known if he has an attorney.
The case will be prosecuted by the office of the Rockingham County attorney.