New Hampshire: Gregory Bruno, 27, charged after allegedly setting fires to purposely kill pets

NEW HAMPSHIRE -- A Raymond man has been indicted on multiple felony charges accusing him of setting several fires that left four dogs dead.

A Rockingham County grand jury this week handed up 13 felony indictments against Gregory Bruno, 27, following a series of fires in Epping, Raymond and Stratham earlier this year.

Bruno is being held in the Rockingham County jail on $50,000 cash bail.

“Right now the defendant is being held on a high cash bail and we think that’s appropriate in this case because we’re concerned about the safety of the community — not just people, but animals,” County Attorney Patricia Conway said.

The felony charges accuse Bruno of arson, burglary, animal cruelty, witness-tampering and insurance fraud. He also faces four misdemeanor charges of arson, attempted arson, criminal threatening and false public alarm.

According to the indictments, the series of fires began on Jan. 12, when Bruno allegedly burglarized a home on Green Road in Raymond and then purposely set a fire.

The family wasn’t home, but their two dachshunds, Owen and Baron, and their black Labrador retriever, Raven, were inside their crates on the porch and died of smoke inhalation.

Two of the cages that housed the dogs that died in a house fire in
Raymond in January. Gregory Bruno has been indicted in the
fire and several others. (Jason Schreiber file photo)

Conway did not comment on a possible motive, but Raymond police Sgt. David Spinney has said Bruno showed a pattern of terrorizing a victim in the Raymond fire, and that the two were involved in a “domestic-violence relationship.”

Bruno is also accused of setting a fire that destroyed several units at Raymond Self-Storage on March 24. Renters lost many of their belongings in the blaze.

He then allegedly set fire to a home on Anthony Lane in Epping on March 28.

That fire was followed by another alleged arson involving a car parked at the Planet Fitness in Stratham on April 4. A dog inside that vehicle died in the fire, authorities said.

Another indictment alleges Bruno fed a dog an Exacto knife blade on April 24.

Conway said Bruno also is accused of sending a threatening message to the Epping public safety complex.

Bruno faces more than 10 years in prison if convicted, Conway said.

The charges followed a lengthy investigation involving police from Epping, Raymond and Stratham, along with members of the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Department, state Fire Marshal’s Office, New Hampshire State Police, the Manchester Fire Department, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

“We’re happy that we were able to work together collaboratively with multiple agencies to get the defendant charged. It took some time to develop probable cause and to make sure that we had the right person,” Conway said.

(Union Leader - Sept 10, 2015)