Former Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave (D) is getting yet another life lesson about consequences as a grand jury in Rockingham Superior Court handed up criminal indictments connected to the lies he allegedly told in order to get a free lawyer.
The 39-year-old disgraced ex-lawman and one-time New Hampshire Democratic Party star is getting two new felonies and three new misdemeanors added to the long list of criminal charges that forced him from office last year. The indictments come after Brave turned down at least two different plea agreement offers earlier this year.
Brave was charged last summer for allegedly stealing $19,000 in taxpayer money in order to fund his love life, and then lying about it when brought before a grand jury. The new indictments allege Brave followed up his arrest in the theft and perjury case by lying to the courts about his income and place of residence.
Brave allegedly hid the fact he cleared a substantial amount of money from the sale of his Dover home in order to qualify for a free public defender. Brave reportedly made enough money from the sale to buy a 1968 Porsche and pay a year’s lease up front on an apartment in Massachusetts.
At the time, however, Brave was under court orders to reside in New Hampshire. The disgraced Democrat got around that order by simply lying, according to the indictments. Brave told court officials he was living in a Dover apartment rather than out of state.
When the alleged lies were discovered late last year, Brave was still Strafford County Sheriff. He was collecting his salary while on administrative leave, despite no longer living in the state. The revelation about the Massachusetts apartment and his income forced Brave into a December deal to finally resign from his post in order to stay out of jail for violating his bail order.
Now the lies have come back to bite Brave in the form of the new indictments.
Prosecutors said last month, before the indictments were handed up, that any trial in the original case won’t happen until next year. There’s still the opportunity for Brave to seek a plea agreement. But with the new charges it appears he does not have leverage in any possible negotiation.
Elected in 2020 as New Hampshire’s first Black sheriff, Brave promised to reform the police culture within the department. At the time, though, the Strafford County Sheriff’s Department focused less on law enforcement and more on civil process service.
Brave allegedly promoted a woman he took to Florida on the county dime to a “special deputy” position despite the fact she was not a certified police officer. He allegedly maxed out his county credit card on expenses from taking various women on dates and short vacations. Brave wooed so many different women, in fact, that he could not identify a specific woman when questioned by investigators. At the time, Brave was married, though he’s since divorced.
Earlier in the investigation, Brave claimed his fellow Democrats on the Stratford County Commissioners were racists who were out to get him. That’s unlikely to be an effective strategy in court, lawyers tell NHJournal.
Strafford County voters now face the choice between Republican Scott Tingle and Democrat Kathryn Mone.
Mone’s resume includes her recent stint as the North Hampton Police Chief where she oversaw a mass employee exodus while she micromanaged the staff, according to sources. The town was stuck with a $150,000 tab settling a case overseen by Mone that involved two of her officers improperly arresting a woman for drinking beer at home while watching baseball, after they performed an illegal search.
