Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave is due in court on December 5th, and faces the possibility of having his bail revoked and being locked up. Although it remains uncertain whether or not Brave will have representation at Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood. He lost access to a court-appointed lawyer after buying a Porsche and claiming he couldn’t afford an attorney. Judge Daniel St. Hilaire agreed with prosecutors from the New Hampshire attorney general’s office in November that Brave had been dishonest about his finances. As a result, the judge has ordered him to cover the costs of his own legal representation.
In September, Brave pleaded not guilty to a variety of criminal charges, including using $19,000 in county funds to finance personal trips amidst multiple extramarital affairs and then lying about it to a grand jury. Prosecutor has since expanded the allegations against Brave to include two additional felonies, alleging he fraudulently received over $10,000 while residing in Massachusetts, in violation of his bail order that required county sheriffs to live in New Hampshire.
Mark Sisti, a reputable New Hampshire attorney, has cautioned that it would be unwise for Brave to represent himself in court given the serious nature of the charges and his previous dishonesty about his finances. If the attorney general’s motion to revoke Brave’s bail is successful, he could face imprisonment while awaiting trial.
Prosecutors allege that Brave used money received from selling his home to purchase a Porsche instead of hiring a lawyer, and misled the court about his residency and financials. Allegedly, Brave falsely told the court that he could not afford an attorney while providing inaccurate information about his assets and income. Video evidence showed that Brave was living in Massachusetts despite his claim of residing in Dover, and that he had purchased not just one expensive vehicle but two. If these allegations are true, Brave might be charged with criminal contempt in addition to his existing charges.
