By Tiffany Williams –
LONDONDERRY, N.H. — A yearlong search for an escaped New Hampshire prisoner ended late Thursday night at a hotel near Perkins and Rockingham roads. The U.S. Marshals Service and the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force apprehended David Hamilton, 28, after investigators determined he had assumed a false identity using a California man’s license and personal information.
Hamilton escaped from the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in August 2025 while participating in a work-release program. At the time, he was serving the second of two consecutive sentences for second-degree assault convictions. He began serving his sentence in November 2022.
Those convictions arose from a 2022 incident in which Hamilton fled a crime scene in a vehicle, injured three women, destroyed multiple vehicles and endangered an animal, according to the release. Authorities described him as having gang ties and an extensive history of violence in New Hampshire, including burglary, assault, reckless conduct and firearms-related offenses.
Marshals worked with investigators across New England to trace Hamilton’s movements. The discovery that he was using another man’s identifying information helped investigators narrow the search and locate him in Londonderry. The release does not identify the hotel or the California man.
Task force members developed an arrest plan intended to minimize danger to the public and law enforcement. Hamilton was taken into custody without injury or incident, authorities said. The arrest ended the search that followed his departure from the work-release program.
“Escapes from custody pose a serious public safety concern, and bringing escaped prisoners back into custody is essential to maintaining the integrity of our correctional system,” said William R. Hart, Jr., Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Corrections. “We appreciate the U.S. Marshals Service and the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force for their persistence and partnership in locating and apprehending Hamilton. Their work brings this case to a close and reinforces the importance of interagency cooperation in protecting our communities.”
Hamilton’s earlier encounters with federal authorities included a 2016 arrest by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. That investigation linked him to the burglary of a firearms store in Hooksett that year, according to the release. He later violated federal pretrial release conditions in that case and was arrested in Manchester in 2018.
The latest operation was carried out by the U.S. Marshals Service’s District of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force. Authorities reported that Hamilton’s apprehension was completed safely, bringing the escaped prisoner back into custody.