Man From Nashua Accused Of Making Gun Threat, Falsifying Evidence After Day Of Drinking In June, Police Say

NASHUA, NH — A man from Nashua was arrested on felony charges after being accused of chasing others with a gun and threatening to shoot them late last month.

Around 1:30 a.m. on June 27, police were sent to the area of Temple and Court streets for a report of a disturbance involving one man chasing another with a gun. An officer met with two men who were walking in the area, encountered another group, and became involved in a “verbal altercation,” according to a police affidavit. During the altercation, a man described as “light-skinned with dreadlocks,” completely dressed in black, pulled out a gun from his waistband and said, “I’ll use this s--- on you, f--- y’all,” according to an affidavit.

The men told the officer they did not see the gun, but another member of their party had seen it and told them about it.

Other officers saw a man matching the suspect’s description in the area of a pub on Temple Street. The man, later identified as Ezequiel Santana, 22, of Vine Street in Nashua, was detained, according to the report.

While in cuffs, police searched the area, and a sergeant found a black sweatshirt on the ground behind some bushes, as well as a Glock 43X 9mm pistol in a parking lot, according to an affidavit. The sweatshirt had the words “supply and demand” in cursive, which appeared to match the shorts Santana was wearing, a detective wrote.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information provided by the Nashua Police Department and the Nashua District Court and does not constitute a conviction. This link explains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.

Another officer contacted the initial 911 caller, who accused Santana of interjecting himself into a verbal argument between his group and another group, after they all left the pub, the detective wrote. Santana was accused by the witness of lifting up his shirt and brandishing a black handgun. The witness, who previously served in the military, according to the detective, said he was familiar with firearms and was “certain” it was a gun. Fearing for his life, the witness grabbed his friends, they all ran, and he called 911, “while the male chased after them,” the report stated.

Santana was charged with criminal threatening with a firearm, a felony.

Later, the witness was interviewed a second time at police headquarters with a detective and reiterated the same information — but he also “advised his memory could be fading as he had not been able to sleep prior to the interview,” the detective said. The witness was also the only one out of his friend group willing to provide a formal statement and move forward with the criminal charges, the detective said.

Detectives Mirandized Santana and interviewed him, according to the report. He said he had been consuming alcohol at “multiple establishments” since 2 p.m. on June 26, a detective wrote. Santana “blacked out” and “does not recall a lot of the evening,” but remembered leaving a Main Street Mexican grill and tequila bar “after consuming multiple tequila shots,” the affidavit said. He “vaguely recalled a disturbance between ‘frat boys’ after he left (the grill-tequila bar) but did not remember anything specific,” the report stated.

When asked about the Glock 43X, Santana was accused of admitting to possessing it for most of the day, but he thought he had left the restaurant and put it in his car, but was not sure. He also admitted to carrying it inside his waistband holster, usually, but not this time, the report stated. The gun, he added, was in his pocket, the detective wrote.

Santana was questioned more about the gun and denied threatening anyone, saying he was a responsible gun owner, the affidavit said. When asked about the sweatshirt and gun being tossed in the parking lot, he did not recall anything and said it was possible he put the gun and sweatshirt there, the report stated. Santana also did not recall chasing anyone but admitted it would be possible, the detective wrote. However, he added, he would not have had a firearm out, chasing people, as a “gun goes faster than someone running,” the affidavit said.

“Throughout the interview,” the detective added, “Ezequiel consistently stated he does not recall anything after leaving Casa Vieja and stated he was ‘blacked out’ from consuming too much alcohol.”

Along with the threat charge, Santana was also charged with two felony counts of falsifying physical evidence.

Santana was held on preventive detention and arraigned in Nashua District Court on June 29.

The Nashua Police Department requests anyone with more information about this incident to contact the Crime Line at 603-589-1665.

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