By ERIC BAXTER
Staff Writer
HOOKSETT - Suzanne P. Bennett shot her ex-husband in the chest with a revolver on Friday, Sept. 4, after chasing him through the couple's ranch-style home and repeatedly threatening to kill him, according to documents on file at Hooksett District Court.
Standing in the doorway of the bathroom inside their home, at 4 Heather Drive, Suzanne Bennett said, "I'm going to kill you now," according to a report written by State Police Det. Sgt. David B. Goldstein.
James Bennett replied, "Let's talk about this."
"...should kill you now," she said again, according to court records.
The revolver was pointed at him the whole time as his ex-wife threatened to kill him, he reportedly told authorities.
James Bennett, 47, a state police trooper, escaped serious injury. His ex-wife is facing one count of attempted murder and a potential 30-year prison term.
Suzanne Bennett, 52, is being held at the state Prison for Women in Goffstown on $100,000 cash bail pending trial.
She was arraigned at Hooksett District Court the morning following the shooting, on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Her probable cause hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 16 at Hooksett District Court.
James Bennett was released from Concord Hospital on Saturday, Sept. 5. He declined comment on the incident from his hospital bed before he was released.
Prior to the shooting, he was getting ready to attend a flying lesson in Hampton, scheduled for 5:30 p.m., according to court documents. He was off-duty.
James Bennett said his ex-wife told him she didn't want him to go to the lesson.
He went to the sauna room and his ex-wife followed shortly after and showed him the revolver she had in her hand.
The off-duty trooper tried to escape and find cover. At one point, his ex-wife forced open a louvered door in the house in her search for him.
She moved into the hallway as her ex-husband kept looking for cover. At one point, she lowered the revolver, but then she raised it and shot him, court records said.
Hooksett police said they first received the call for help about 3:20 p.m.
Arriving first at the scene, Hooksett Lt. Les McDaniel entered the house by the carport door. Announcing himself, McDaniel said, in court documents, that he heard a male voice from the bathroom saying he was OK and advising the officer that he was in the bathroom.
McDaniel found Suzanne Bennett kneeling on the bathroom floor next to her ex-husband; he was holding a revolver. McDaniel asked for the revolver and James Bennett replied he couldn't give it to him, as he couldn't move his arm.
James Bennett was covered with a blue towel from the waist down and there was blood on the bathroom floor, the report said.
McDaniel took the revolver from James Bennett and Suzanne Bennett was placed into the custody of Hooksett Sgt. Gary Blanchette.
Both Bennetts had been involved with the community and were known by many residents.
The well-dressed, well-coiffed Suzanne Bennett worked as a toll collector at the Hooksett tolls on Route 93 and took care of animals for vacationers.
She was also involved in the community. She has served on the past Old Home Day committee and she has worked the Hooksett Congregational Church strawberry supper, which takes place every June.
James Bennett has worked for the state Bureau of Highway Enforcement for about 10 years; he continued to work for the bureau after it merged with state police two years ago. He is the town treasurer in Hooksett.
According to neighbors, the two had divorced in December but had moved back in together four to five months ago.
Several residents on Heather Drive said they were shocked to come home and find their small street flooded with police cars, and the ranch-style home where Suzanne Bennett lived for close to 20 years strung with police crime scene tape.
One neighbor who was close to the couple and asked to remain anonymous said the incident took her by surprise.
"They were good neighbors to us and the kids," she said. "When the kids were small, sometimes the Bennetts would watch them. We had a very good neighbor relationship with them."
The neighbor said the Bennetts were also a giving couple, lending a hand when someone was in trouble.
By ERIC BAXTER
Staff Writer
HOOKSETT - Wednesday nights at the Space Center in Hooksett mean seeing and being seen, attitude, expression, knowledge and a really loud stereo system.
The lower parking lot of the video game mecca is transformed from a service parking lot to a showcase. Low riders, flame decals, fat tires and chrome, chrome, chrome rub elbows with vintage Plymouths in plain green paint and yet-to-be-restored Volares.
It's classic car night and motorheads are out in force.
According to Space Center manager Leon Shaw, the weekly event started about one year ago when Time Travelers, a classic car club out of Manchester, approached the business to use their lot as a meeting spot.
Slowly, the event has grown and now enthusiasts from around the area meet to talk shop and share in their passion - steel and wheels, a really big engine and a slick paint job.
The ages of the enthusiasts, from 7 to about 70 years old, and their economic standing, from poor teens to affluent business owners, were all forgotten.
Teens in tooled up Suzuki Samurais with stereo systems powerful enough to decimate small countries talked with older owners of vintage Plymouth cruisers who took pride in their AM radios.
Conversations took place about gear ratios, power-to-mass relationships and the newest types of metal-fleck body paint.
The questions that arose, and could rarely be answered by any of the car nuts in the parking lot, was why? Why the love of the cars, the passion for a big stereo system or a particular make?
For Bob Johnson, the answer was simple. The 66-year-old Derry resident bought his '66 Plymouth Barracuda in 1977. All the equipment, from the plastic chromed radio to wooden steering wheel, are original. The joy, for Johnson, is in driving the car, its simplicity and, of course, its performance (read as speed).
"For us, the cars are the common bond," said Johnson.
Next to Johnson, Dennis Swanson, another member of the Plymouth cult, sat on the hood of his yet-to-be-restored '68 Plymouth Belvedere.
The Belvedere sports a 383 cubic inch engine and gets a whopping 13 miles per gallon.
"These are the cars I remember from my teens, when I first got interested in cars," said Swanson. Again, the car is the common bond and the performance, simplicity and speed are the passion.
Farther down the lot, Ed Hartford talked trucks with with a group friends.
Hartford, 17, from Allenstown, purchased his chopped and modified pickup about a year ago.
While the older generation touted the simplicity of older vehicles, Hartford said the common bond among people his age was showing off the vehicle.
The low-slung truck starts out yeallow at the front, dripping a flame paint job, and fades to teal in the back. A professionally installed audio system booms out music and completes the effect of attitude on wheels.
As Hartford tried to describe the joy in having the car, driving it and being seen, his friends muttered asides about burning rubber and drag racing.
Robert Goings, 18, of Pembroke, summed up why the group was there. "We want to see what else is on the road," said Goings.
As the sun set, the drivers fired up their cars with an almighty rumble, like the closing "Amen!" at a church service, and headed off into the sunset.
By LAURA GUINAN
Correspondent
CANDIA - The Candia Community Center Committee is striving to go beyond just a building, to create a "center of the community" - not just a community center. The committee, popularly known as the "55 High Committee," is discussing plans to develop the whole site in ways that could involve nearly everyone in town.
Following a disappointing showing at the 1998 Town Meeting, when a $763,000 project was turned down by voters, those interested in creating a community center for the town have regrouped and are now moving forward with new ideas and new energy.
The core proposal has not changed. The building would contain an auditorium-gynasium with a capacity for seating 1,000 people for a meeting or housing a high school basketball game. The proposed building also includes a large, dividable conference room, kitchen facilities, storage, and rest rooms. The building will be connected to the Moore School by a covered passageway, so the gym can be used for physical education classes and afternoon games.
Committee members, who brought the proposal to Town Meeting last March, feel that a number of factors caused the project to fail. Former vice chairman Al Couch, who was elected chairman at the committee's August 26 meeting, said earlier this year he felt the committee had not done a good enough job of including the rest of the community in the planning process, or emphasizing the many ways this facility could benefit all residents and organizations in town.
A number of parts of the project were missing from last year's proposal. Although there was space in the auditorium-gym for a stage and roll-out bleachers, these were not included in the proposal. Neither were appliances for the kitchen. The new proposal will be a complete plan.
Another weakness in last year's plan was it lacked the full support of the Candia Youth Athletic Association. The new committee includes James Graham, who represents the CYAA. He is also coordinating this year's Old Home Day.
The committee also wants to develop the entire site for residents to use and enjoy. Couch came up with a plan to create a pond for skating.
Committee members Dick Snow and Mabel Brock recently met with Mary Currier of the Rockingham County Conservation District to discuss the feasibility of the skating pond.
Currier was very enthusiastic about the idea, Snow reported.
She said the pond would not require a license if it was located in upland soils and was less than 100 square feet in area.
Currier also suggested that the wetland portions of the 55 High Street property could be developed into nature trails in cooperation with the school and incorporated into the science curriculum. Committee members also wondered if part of the pond could be located on school property.
Snow attended a recent school board meeting to present these ideas to board members and school officials and to enlist their cooperation. The reaction of the board was favorable, on the whole.
Both principal John Foss and teacher Judy Linsay liked the idea of incorporating the wetland environment into the science curriculum.
Board members were more cautious about having a portion of the skating pond located on school property. School board member Ingrid Byrd, a former member of the Community Center Committee, worried about insurance issues with the pond.
Board chairman Ken Goekjian shared her concern.
Byrd was also concerned that seeking board cooperation was "a back door way for the committee to get the school board to endorse the community center." Byrd added she has a problem with the whole concept, because of the size of the proposed gymnasium.
"I don't think either the school or the community needs a high-school-size gym," said Byrd. Byrd added she favors the educational aspects of the project and the skating pond.
Goekjian felt that the board could cooperate by providing drawings of the school site and inquiring into insurance issues without necessarily endorsing any particular concept.
The remainder of the board concurred.
The Community Center Committee members will have a table at Old Home Day with information and a resident questionnaire. They are also sponsoring a children's coloring contest to publicize the many uses of a community center. The contest is open to children up to age 14. Winners will be chosen in several age categories and will receive a Beanie Baby as a prize. All contestants will receive a participation ribbon.
Contest papers will be given to all Moore School students and may also be obtained at the Smyth Public Library. Finished papers must be returned to either the school office or the Selectmen's Office by Monday, Sept. 14.