BRENTWOOD - A former Salem man received a deferred one-year jail term for kicking a door into the right hand of a deputy sheriff who was serving him eviction papers last January.

Jeremy Stockton, 31, now of Manchester pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of simple assault and resisting arrest as part of a plea deal with county prosecutors. He entered his plea on Monday in Rockingham County Superior Court, the same day he was scheduled to go on trial. County prosecutors initially sought an enhanced simple assault charge against Stockton because the deputy was acting in the line of duty, according to court documents. That charge was punishable by up to two to five years in state prison.

The plea agreement allowed Stockton to avoid the possibility of a state prison sentence and plead guilty to misdemeanor charges, court records say. Prosecutors dropped the felony assault charge as part of the agreement.

Stockton received a deferred one-year jail term that will be suspended if he remains on good behavior for the next 12 months, according to terms of the agreement. On Jan. 19, 2012, Stockton kicked the door closed to his home at Cluff Crossing Road in Salem as Deputy Scott Peltier was trying to enter the residence, according to prosecutors.

Peltier was transported to Exeter Hospital and treated for swelling and a deep contusion to his right hand, the sheriff's department said. Stockton fled from the scene after slamming the door on Peltier, the sheriff's department said. Salem police responded to the home and assisted deputies with apprehending Stockton near his house. Stockton was initially charged with felony second-degree assault and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. But a grand jury indicted him only on the simple assault charge and resisting arrest.



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