SALISBURY — The two men — one an East Kingston, N.H., police officer — accused of beating and kicking a Haverhill man in mid-July have been released on bail by a Salem Superior Court judge, reversing previous decisions made by Newburyport District Court judges to hold them without bail.
On Friday, Salem Superior Court Judge John Lu reversed Newburyport District Court Judge Allen Swan's no-bail order. Lu's ruling allows both men to be released from jail on $5,000 bail, with strict conditions concerning their behavior and movement, which is to be supervised by the probation office at Salem Superior Court.
Chad Larson, 29, of 53 Pond St., Newton, N.H., and Seth Sanford, 30, originally of Merrimac but currently of Miami, Fla., must wear electronic monitoring devices and are confined to homes in Merrimac "24/7," according to court documents. They are allowed to leave only for court appearances and documented meetings with their attorneys no more than once every 21 days. All releases must be authorized by probation officers under the jurisdiction of Salem Superior Court.
Neither man can have access to firearms, weapons or ammunition of any kind and must surrender any and all related licenses. Neither can leave the state of Massachusetts nor hold any type of positions in law enforcement. They are ordered to have no contact with the victim or witnesses.
On July 21, Larson and Sanford were ordered held without bail by Swan after a dangerousness hearing on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a shod foot) and aggravated assault and battery. The charges stem from a July 18 incident that took place in the Salisbury municipal parking lot at Salisbury Beach.
The dangerousness hearing was requested by the district attorney's office due to what the prosecutor considered the "sheer brutality" of the beating. Witnesses of the late-night incident told police Larson and Sanford repeatedly kicked Christopher MacRae, 23, of Haverhill, in the head, not stopping even after he fell unconscious, leaving him in a pool of his own blood.
At a pretrial hearing on Aug. 13 before Newburyport District Court Judge Peter Doyle, attorneys for both men requested they be allowed bail and that their charges be reduced. They argued the "reality" of the beating did not rise to the level of aggravated assault and battery, that the victim was now out of the hospital and will likely not sustain lasting effects from the beating. They argued the defendants would meet any bail conditions the court would set.
But at the pretrial hearing, Doyle refused the request to overturn Swan's no-bail decision or reduce the charges to simple assault and battery.
Following Doyle's ruling, Larson and Sanford filed requests for bail reviews at Salem Superior Court, a right all defendants have, Newburyport District Court Assistant District Attorney Maura Bailey said.
In preparation for the bail review, Bailey's office forwarded all information concerning the case that was presented at the dangerousness hearing for Salem Superior Court Judges to review.
Larson has been a full-time police officer in East Kingston for six years and has also served as a part-time officer in Merrimac and a reserve officer in Newburyport. Although he lives in Newton, N.H., his bail agreement requires he lives at a house in Merrimac until this case is concluded.
Sanford, a childhood friend of Larson, is a former U.S. Marine who is a high school social studies teacher in Florida. However, he will also reside in Merrimac until the case is concluded.
Sanford was visiting Larson on the day of the alleged incident. The men had been at a Salisbury Beach lounge and were walking back to their vehicle when the fight with MacRae occurred, after which the two men left the scene, according to court documents.
Police were called by witnesses to MacRae's unconscious body in the parking lot. Police were able to get accurate descriptions of Larson and Sanford and their vehicles from witnesses. The two men were stopped in Merrimac and arrested shortly after the incident occurred.
MacRae was transported to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, where he remained unconscious in the intensive care unit for three days.
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