GREENFIELD — The New Hampshire teen who was shot after allegedly stabbing a state trooper during a traffic stop in New Salem has been released from the hospital and jailed.
Nghia V. Le, 18, of Manchester, N.H., was released from UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, and is now in the custody of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, according to Northwestern District Attorney spokeswoman Mary Carey.
“Nghia faces charges of assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon, armed carjacking, assault and battery upon a police officer, receiving stolen property valued at over $1,200, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, failure to stop for police and resisting arrest,” Carey said in a statement Friday.
Le is being held on a $1 million cash bail pending his arraignment, which is expected to take place next week, Carey said.
Le was shot on the afternoon Oct. 19, after allegedly stabbing a state trooper attempting to apprehend him following a high-speed chase. The trooper who was stabbed has not been identified, but he is a 47-year-old husband and father and a roughly 12-year police veteran. Both Le and the trooper were taken by separate LifeFlight helicopters to the same hospital for emergency treatment. The trooper is still recovering, but officials have reported him as in “good spirits” and stable condition.
State police allege that Le was involved in a car crash in Walpole, N.H., and then stole the Toyota Camry driven by the other driver involved in the crash, fleeing to Vermont and then south on Interstate 91 into Massachusetts.
State and local police spotted the vehicle and pursued it through Erving and Orange, and finally to New Salem, where the vehicle struck an object near the intersection of Route 202 and Fay Road, causing significant damage to the driver’s side and disabling the vehicle.
According to First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven Gagne, it is thought that Le exited the vehicle and stabbed the trooper with a knife before being shot.
“The shot was fired in response to the trooper being attacked,” Gagne said at a press conference following the incident, adding that it is unclear who fired the shot.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.