Accused released from jail two days before rampage; second victim not shot, died from beating
Nov. 25—Robert C. Gagnon, the man at the center of Wednesday's lethal rampage in the Milford area, had been released two days earlier from a Manchester jail, where he had spent nearly a month for violating a protective order filed by a woman seeking to divorce him.
Gagnon, 45, also has a criminal history that includes convictions for several felonious sexual assaults in 1999, drug possession, drunken driving and receiving stolen property, according to online court records.
As of Friday, authorities had not connected a non-fatal shooting and a bludgeoning death to the pending divorce of Robert and Jennifer Gagnon, who lives in Wilton.
But according to a friend of Jennifer Gagnon, she was terrified of her husband, who is charged with the attempted murder of Jennifer's boyfriend, Carlos Quintong, 44.
"He (Gagnon) was released (from jail) on Monday. She had a restraining order against him. She was very scared to have him released," said the friend, who asked that her name not be published.
On Friday afternoon, officials released further details in the death of Robert Prest, 83, whose death appears involved in the rampage. Early reports were of a shooting fatality inside Prest's home at 774 Center Road, Lyndeborough.
But an autopsy determined that Prest died of blunt injuries to his head, according to a statement issued by Attorney General John Formella. He did not suffer from gunshot injuries, Formella's office said.
For hours on Wednesday, police frantically searched for Gagnon, throwing the normally hectic eve of Thanksgiving into chaos in the Wilton-Milford area. A helicopter hovered overhead as police cars raced to answer reports of sightings of Gagnon and some businesses and stores were locked down.
Gagnon had been living in Wilton before the divorce proceedings started in August. He faces a charge of attempted murder for allegedly trying to run Quintong off the road in the town of Brookline and then shooting him.
Quintong was in stable condition Friday morning at a Massachusetts hospital, said homicide prosecutor Ben Agati. As of Friday morning, Quintong had not spoken to investigators, Agati said.
The Brookline shooting victim was the boyfriend of Jennifer Gagnon. He had spent the night at her place and was going home to Massachusetts when he was shot, the wife's friend said.
Brookline police have said the shooting was domestic-related, and Agati said Gagnon and Quintong knew each other.
Gagnon was arraigned by video Friday morning, when a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. The brief arraignment ended with Superior Court Judge Mark Attori ordering him held on preventive detention.
His lawyers, public defenders Sarah Rothman and Meredith Lugo, said they wanted more time to discuss the case with Gagnon, and that they may ask for bail in the future.
Gagnon said little during the arraignment except to acknowledge any statements made by Attori.
In August, Jennifer Gagnon filed for divorce against Gagnon. A month later, she obtained a protection order. She told a judge that Gagnon lunged at her during an argument and grabbed her arm and cell phone.
"The defendant lunged at plaintiff such that the parties' 17-year-old son had to intervene," wrote a Milford District Court judge, who granted the protection order. He noted a family history of domestic violence and alcohol abuse.
Then in October, Wilton police arrested Gagnon and charged him with four counts of violating a protective order; he called Jennifer several times from the Market Basket parking lot in Milford to speak to her. During one call, she was at the Wilton police station.
Gagnon was also charged with breaking into her house at 377 Main St., Wilton, and stealing a credit card, which he used to book a room in a Nashua hotel.
On Monday, he pleaded guilty and was freed from the Valley Street jail. He was ordered to participate in a domestic violence batterers program and to continue weekly therapy sessions with his counselor.
On Friday, investigators were at work trying to piece together what happened. Police found many people home on Black Friday, an unofficial holiday when many do not work.
"It's a great opportunity to be able to speak to someone who saw something," Agati said.
