ROCHESTER, N.H. (WHDH) — A man charged with brutally beating a woman outside a Planet Fitness in Rochester, New Hampshire, planned the attack and believed her boyfriend stole his safe that contained thousands of dollars, according to court documents.
Police arrested 22-year-old Jordan Lamonde, of Portsmouth, on Monday, in connection with the June attack on 18-year-old Erin McCarthy. Responding officers found McCarthy suffering from serious injuries. She had just clocked out of work when she was attacked around 10 p.m.
Gym surveillance video showed Lamonde getting out of his car coming up behind the woman and hitting her 39 times as she’s about to get into her car.
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Lamonde waived arraignment in Dover on Tuesday on a second-degree assault charge after agreeing to wear a GPS bracelet. He was released on personal recognizance and will be called to court later this summer.
Court documents indicate Lamonde waited for more than 8 hours to attack McCarthy. Court documents say Lamonde entered the gym parking lot at 2:20 p.m., pulling into several spots over the course of the next several hours but never getting out of his car until the assault. Each time, Lamonde’s vehicle reportedly parked closer to McCarthy’s vehicle.
“We publicly stated that he was targeting her specifically,” said Captain Jason Thomas of the Rochester Police Department. “There is a reason, however she does not know him.”
A tipster told detectives that the suspect told McCarthy that he was “ripped off” by a person named Joe Bunch for $30,000, according to court documents. The tipster noticed that the victim was associated with Bunch on Facebook. Detectives were told that she was dating Steven Bunch, the younger brother of Joe.
Detectives determined following a conversation with Steven Bunch that Lamonde had accused him of stealing a safe that held thousands of dollars.
“This was a vicious, unprovoked attack that shocked our community, and I am proud to report that the suspect has been identified and apprehended,” Chief Paul Toussaint said.
Rochester Police said they identified the suspect and tracked him down as he was leaving a New Hampshire hospital.
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