Fourth arrest made in Aug. 16 diner brawl

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Red Arrow. File Photo

MANCHESTER, NH – Four people – three men and a teen – are now under arrest in connection with last week’s brawl inside the Red Arrow Diner on Lowell Street.

Trenton Liggins, 19, of 194 Auburn St., turned himself in Tuesday on a warrant.  He was wanted on a felony riot charge in connection with the Aug. 16, 2021 incident.

Police learned of the fight from an employee who called 911 about 12:45 a.m. that day. The caller said at least 20 people were involved, someone brandished a gun and there were injuries.

According to court documents, Officer Erik Slocum arrived to see two men leaving the diner and people inside yelling at them.  Inside he found tables overturned, plates broken and plexi-glass barriers shattered.

Slocum reviewed the diner’s video footage which recorded two men and two women sitting at a table, waiting for their food.  About 12:45 a.m., a group of five males enter and immediately walk over to the table.


One of the men is wearing a black balaclava around his head with a baseball cap covering his face.  However, as he speaks he pulls his mask down several times allowing Slocum to identify him as Griffin O’Neil, 19, of 4 Clematis Circle, Apt. 1, Concord, formerly of Manchester.

O’Neil leans across “K.R.”, an individual identified in court papers as a victim, as he is sitting at the table and strikes “C.M.” in the face, starting the diner-wide fight, according to Detective Ryan Heile’s affidavit.

As the fight breaks out, one man is recorded standing on a table, attempting to keep his balance.  He holds onto his waistband in front, trying to keep something in his pants secured.  “This could be consistent with keeping a firearm secure in his waistband to keep it from falling out during the altercation,” Heile wrote.

The man, while still standing on the table, kicks “C.M.” in the head twice, according to court papers.

“K.R.” tries to break up the fight between the four males and “C.M.”

Police quickly identified those involved in the ruckus and obtained warrants for their arrest.  On August 18, the Manchester Police Anti-Crime Unit located some of the suspects at 437 Rimmon St.

With the help of SWAT, O’Neil and Xavier Clement, 20, of 144 Lake Ave., were arrested and charged with felony riot. A 17-year-old juvenile who was involved in the incident was arrested as well.

At the time of his arrest, O’Neil was wanted for violating the terms of his probation, stemming from a drug possession charge from last year.

Another man, who was at the Rimmon Street address, also was arrested.  Emmanuel Sayle, 20, of 399 Brown Ave., was taken into custody on an outstanding Hillsborough County Superior Court warrant for violating bail on an unrelated charge.

Liggins additionally was charged with violating bail conditions set on charges stemming from a June 2020 incident in which he was arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and riot.

 

About this Author

Pat Grossmith

Pat Grossmith is a freelance reporter.