reporter: this was a scary situation, thankfully other drivers called police to let them know what was going on and it didn't take long for them to find her and make this arrest. state police say 24-year-old chelsea cormier was spotted driving the wrong way on the everett turnpike around 1:00 a.m. thursday morning. >> was a cell caller that came into police headquarters that identified this dryer as operating the wrong way. reporter: initial reports said the woman was driving northbound in the southbound lane near exit 13 in bedford. >> troopers eventually made contact with the driver and pursued it all the way north through the hooksett toll. reporter: state police got into position ahead of her as she continued to drive northbound for several miles. >> many persons who are under the influence of alcohol lose track of which direction they're driving in, specifically on the roadways at that time of night because there aren't other cars as a point of reference for them to notice that they're driving the wrong way. reporter: officers say they laid down spike strips like this one

slowing her car down. >> after the car's tires had been deflated, which ultimately led to the driver of the vehicle being apprehended and arrested. reporter: cormier initially long. >> two of her four tires were spiked, she still tried to pull back onto the roadway and flee the scene. reporter: police finally stopped arrested. >> this specific driver was also under the influence of alcohol and will be charged accordingly. fortunately no one was hurt and only due to the quick response of the troopers that were working last night, was an accident avoided. reporter: we tried to speak to cormier today at her home in windham, but she asked us to leave. jean: tonight a man is facing charges in connection to a number of crimes in pelham. officers say these surveillance photos led them to an arrest and police are tying him to even more crimes. wmur's heather hamel is live in

lengthy investigation. reporter: a helmet, shoes, clothes, even a bee-bee gun that looks like a handgun, was found at ronald szettella's house, they say it's the evidence they needed and how he faces three felony charges and there soon could be more from the neighboring town of salem. more than two years after police say his crime-spree began, 43-year-old ronald szettella faced a judge, police say it was hard work and surveillance video that got them to this day. >> in september of '13 szettella called in a bomb threat from a pay phone in lowell, mass and our detectives got video footage from several businesses. reporter: the man could be seen stopping at the pay phone around the same time pelham elementary school received the call. in september when someone robbed the gage hill farm convenience store wearing a motorcycle helmet, police say they found a link. and during a search of szettella's home they found more evidence connecting him to another armed robbery at the

>> i knew him as a customer, i knew his face, he was a regular here, but a lot of people from the neighborhood knew him, their kids hung out with his kids and family, and very surprising. reporter: court papers say szettella told police he had been laid off more than once, was a drug addict, and called in the bomb threat to his children's' school hoping they'd be released early and he could spend time with them. >> it really tells you who are far someone will go just to make like a custody arrangement work in their favor. the fact that they're not even considering the fear that they're placing on an entire community when making that phone call. reporter: police also connected him to two other robberies in salem, one where the suspect more a barack obama mask. >> i've known him for years, he actually mooed my lawn and i never expected it of him, but i guess things do change.

other open cases in their town to see if there's any connection. right now szettella is being held on $250,000 cash bail on the pelham charges. heather hamel, wmur news 9. jean: the weather this year hasn't looked anything like last year. by this time in 2014, most of the state had more than 10 inches of snow and a winter storm took out power on thanksgiving. but many sections of the state haven't seen any measurable snow yet this year. hayley lapoint tells us how close we are to breaking a record. hayley: we're about nine days away from breaking the top five latest snowfalls across the state. this is mainly from the concord area, these numbers here. up north some of you have had snow on the ground, southern areas that has not been the case. the latest we have ever had snow on the ground was january 13th, 1999. so we still have some time before we go and break a big record like that. i wanted to compare how the rest of the winter went after those

so the average for concord in snowfall. you can see there that there was only one year we got above the average when we've had snowfall that late in the year. here. of course last year we had the bulk of our snowfall after january 1st as well. chief meteorologist mike haddad will have more on the forecast coming up in a few moments. josh: commitment 2016 now, the setup is under way for republican presidential candidate donald trump to speak in portsmouth. he'll be at the new england police benevolent association's event where there is a large protest outside of it. we'll start our live coverage with stephanie woods. reporter: yes, josh, outside there are big crowds, inside big crowd as well, but right now it's a very intimate affair here at the portsmouth sheraton, a lot of people are very eager to

and that of course is donald trump. the billionaire businessman is back in the granite state, just days after announcing that the u.s. should bar all muslims from entering the country until the nation's leaders can quote figure out what's going on. but yet we have yet to see how these comments could or could not affect trump's popularity m. the latest poll released on monday, 32% of likely voters say they will vote for trump in the new hampshire primary. but fans of trump in portsmouth say they like trump because of his controversial comments, not in spite of them. >> he's not politically correct and i love it. there's finally somebody that says something, says what he means, saying what i want to hear. >> he knows how to get national coverage, he makes these statements and he's off the wall with his statements and that's

gets a lot of attention. reporter: trumps campaign tells us there are more than 100 meetup professionals here and very big crowds both inside and outside. one of those crowds outside is protesting trump's visit tonight, it's a group of u.n.h. students and we have jennifer crompton outside. what's the scene like there? reporter: you talk to some of the supporters today, i got to tell you they are far outnumbered tonight right outside the hotel it's a far different crowd than donald trump is used to seeing. his supporters are on the close corner here. but across the street and beyond them, down the street and around the corner, hundreds of people that have come here outside the sheraton to make a statement. people of all ages are holding signs, it's a peaceful well attended planned protest of donald trump. there are grandmothers and children in the crowd, men, women, they're bearing signs that say things like love is neighbor.

they say is the building bridges between people and not constructing walls. they are here to protest donald trump's suggesting that the united states ban muslims from visiting. and for the opposition to taking in syrian refugees. to quote one woman we spoke with, it's time to speak out, she says, because this is getting dangerous. >> he's just spewing so much hate that we have to stop him now. this is just, i couldn't sit home any longer and let this happen. i'm frightened that this man has gotten as far as he has. >> instead of trying to develop some kind of understanding of who they are. >> i think it barbaric that trump is so against muslims. we're all just people. reporter: we're back here outside where this protest shows no signs of slowing down. there are still as many people

and beeping, apparently in support. there was a group of people that went inside including a u.n.h. student that we spoke with, he said about 10 of them went inside to the lobby, sat down on the floor and held a peaceful protest, singing songs and they left when police asked them to because they didn't want to get arrested, but they wanted to make a statement that they feel very strongly against what donald trump is saying. these folks are waiting for donald trump to arrive, so he'll get quite a different crowd than he's used to seeing. for now, live in portsmouth, jennifer crompton. josh: we'll have a full wrapup on later newscasts. jean: still to come tonight, investigators discover where the fire started that burned a historic billion in portsmouth. josh: the new hampshire motor speedway is handing out checks to local charities today. mike: the mild air does continue into friday, but will we see any

the forecast is coming up. >> a good sign in foxborough today, rob gronkowski back on the practice field. but find it harder and harder to get by, you're not alone. while our people work longer hours for lower wages, almost all new income my plan -- make wall street banks and the ultrarich pay their fair share of taxes, provide living wages for working people, ensure equal pay for women. i'm bernie sanders. i approve this message because together, we can make a political revolution and create an economy and democracy that works for all

people are working harder than ever, but the everyday cost of perscriptions, child care, or even just buying groceries can be a stretch for too many families. hillary's plan: raise the

get equal pay for women, cut taxes for the middle class, and new incentives for business to share profits with employees instead of just rewarding ceos. those at the top are doing just fine. it's your family that needs a raise. i'm hillary clinton, and i approve this message. jean: a fire that damaged a popular portsmouth restaurant started with a grill vent that was scheduled to be cleaned today. josh: cleanup was under way on thursday at the gas light. the building was cordoned off, most of the damage was caused by water though. fire officials confirm that the cause of the fire was accidental, and the fire started with a grill on the first floor. >> lighting the fire, getting it going for the day, flames got up and got into the grease filters

work, which went to the roof. in essence was a chimney fire. josh: there is minor water damage to adjacent businesses as well, not clear when they might reopen, but a sign on the door says it will be closed for at least the rest of the week. jean: firefighters are trying to determine with a caused a fire at a home in unity this morning. it took crews two hours to put out the flames. the fire department says an elderly woman lives here, but luckily no one was hurt. josh: so it's almost springtime. mike: almost, it's amazing to see these temperatures continuing, and we had a little

anncr: when the attacks come here... ...the person behind this desk will have to protect your family. will he be impulsive and reckless, like donald trump? will he have voted to dramatically weaken counter-terrorism surveillance, like ted cruz? will he have skipped crucial national security hearings and votes just to campaign, like marco rubio? 27 generals and admirals support jeb bush. because jeb has the experience and knowledge to protect your family. right to rise usa is responsible for the content

josh: a very special holiday gift was handed out today and it will benefit thousands of kids across new england. jean: officials from the new hampshire motor speedway and speedway children's charities handed out more than $250,000 in checks to local childrens charities. governor hassan and other dignitaries were there to witness the distribution of grants that will help 10,000 children in need. >> every year we host various events during our sprint cup race where is they have golf tournaments, skeet shooting,

pass out in the stands to the fans and they donate to the peed way children's charities. jean: since its inception they have distributed more than $1 million, helping more than 300,000 children across the northeast. josh: don't forget our annual spirit of giving food drive kicks off tomorrow and we'll be collecting nonperishable food donations at all hannaford's, shaw's and wal-mart locations in new hampshire. the food will go to the new hampshire food bank. mike: times of sun, times of clouds out there today. although in central parts of the state, especially the heart of the lakes region, the low clouds and fog quite thick. notice by the time lapse at newfound lake, some glimpses of blue skies and partial sun. but right now visibility is an issue if you're traveling across new hampshire. right now where it says zero

that includes a good part of the lakes region, down through concord and all the way up into the great north woods. the only trick with the great north woods is temperatures are hovering near freezing, so there could be a touch of black ice in parts of northern coos county in the next few hours. but how about these highs today, even up north well above the average, lower 40's in berlin, a few mid 50's manchester along the coast and down through nashua. so yet again another warm december day and it's not that bad right now, still above the average highs for this time of year, but lining up just below freezing in parts of the great north woods, so that's why there could be glazing on the roads. but not much of an issue there with above freezing temperatures and well above at that. overnight tonight dipping another degree or two in the great north woods, upper 20's, on average 30 to 35, concord north and west and a little above that nashua and towards the coast and up through

major reason for the warmup, the jet stream lifting most of the cold air well to our north, courtesy of a very active storm track back in the pacific courtesy of el nino. that's driving mild air across a good part of the nation. another surge develops over the next few days with no real arctic air anywhere in sight. even when it cools down in the plains states, brings temperatures only back to average. the latest system builds in tomorrow, but no moisture with it outside of some clouds, so patchy low clouds and fog. a good part of the weekend should be dry. low clouds and fog for tonight, slissibility under a mile in some spots. so give yourself some extra time and watch out for a bit of glazing in the great north woods. tomorrow low clouds, fog in the morning, developing partial sun in the afternoon, but not a completely sunny afternoon. there will be some partial sun at times, and it should clear out for many on saturday.

build in and temperatures running above average right through the weekend, even into early next week. when yet the next storm approaches and because of the mild air it will fall in the form of rain. could end as a mix early tuesday morning in the white mountains, outside of that it's rain showers monday afternoon into monday night. wednesday looking good, a little cooler, and thursday ahead of the next storm that will likely bring showers or way sometime on thursday afternoon and friday, and maybe above normal temperatures into next weekend too. josh: you're above normal. mike: i appreciate that. josh: way to go, mike. mike: how far above is the key, though. josh: way up there.

>> rob gronkowski was back on the practice field today for the first time since injuring his knee in denver. gronk was a bone bruise and a knee strain. there's still no timetable for his return to game action, but things are looking good. he wore a knee brace for today's workout, which was light with only helmets and shoulder pads. gronk usually speaks to the media on thursdays but was not made available today. still no word on his status for sunday night's game in houston. it's a night off for both the bruins and celtics. the bruins will host the florida panthers on saturday afternoon. the celtics host the golden state warriors tomorrow night.

start in nba history. this week's home town hero is one of the top gymnasts from new hampshire, and here he is in his own words. >> i'm nick miryman, i'm from hollis brookline high school. what i love about gymnastics is the ability to do what a lot of others would say is impossible. and i love being able to showcase my skills that i work really hard on during competitions. i really love the artistry about the sport, how everything flows and looks really nice. how it all fits together to one motion. i chose the university of iowa because of the great combination of a brand new facility, a great coach, and academics were very pleasing to me.

gymnastics is the ability to come back after a setback and still be as motivated as you were before. my favorite event is the pommel horse because all of the variety of skills you can do, it creates a really fun way to construct routines and to compete. >> that is pretty impressive. new hampshire sports page will host its third annual coaches for a cause high school basketball jamboree this weekend, it's at londonderry high school. 16 teams are involved, games will be played saturday and sunday. all the proceeds from the event will go to the new horizons homeless shelter food pantry in manchester. great event, check it out, catch some high school basketball. josh: right now tune in for "new hampshire chronicle" immediately

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