Hanover Police arrested a man on a federal felony charge of desertion from the United States Army on Lyme Road at about 12:30 p.m. last Wednesday.
The Army issued a warrant for the arrest of 40-year-old Gerald Remacle in June 2004 after he left his active duty post in Fort Bragg, N.C.
According to Spc. Jackie Thomas of Fort Bragg's public affairs office, Remacle "went home to pick up his family and never returned."
Remacle was ranked a private during his tenure in the 546 Transportation Company of the 1st Corps Support Command. He served as a motor transport operator.
"He had no disciplinary actions pending against him at that moment, and he wasn't on orders to Iraq. Basically, we don't know why he deserted," said Maj. Tom McCollum, deputy public affairs officer for Fort Bragg.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice defines a deserter in part as any member of the armed forces who, "without authority goes or remains absent from his unit, organization or place of duty with intent to remain away therefrom permanently."
According to John Emmert, public affairs specialist at the Fort Knox deserter information point, there is no single most prevalent cause for desertion.
"Each case is different, and I have not seen any statistics on causes," Emmert said.
Hanover Police located and arrested Remacle after receiving "information from an anonymous source," Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said.
Although the arrest occurred over a year after the issue of the warrant, Giaccone said he did not think Remacle had been in hiding. The resident of Bradford, Vt., was in Hanover "dropping a relative off at her place of work," Giaccone said.
"Within 48 hours of someone being classified as a deserter, the U.S. Army deserter information point will enter the soldier's name into the national crime information center, an FBI database, which will then inform the federal state and local law enforcement agencies," Emmert said.
"If the deserter is pulled over or violates the law, the law enforcement will check these databases and the name will come up as someone wanted by the U.S. Army," Emmert continued. "The Army has nobody who goes after deserters."
According to Emmert, once a deserter is apprehended, he or she is brought to Fort Knox and offered free legal counsel. The deserter must be convicted in a court-martial before punishment can be assessed.
In addition to the desertion charge, Remacle was also arrested on a warrant from the Lebanon District Court for previously failing to pay fines incurred by driving while his license was suspended.
Remacle was driving when he was arrested, and thus received a misdemeanor charge of Driving After Suspension, his second offense.
At his Lebanon District Court arraignment on Wednesday afternoon, Remacle pled guilty to the charge of Driving After Suspension.
After his arrest, Remacle was turned over to the Grafton County Sheriff's Department. He is being held at the Grafton County House of Correction in North Haverhill, N.H., awaiting the military transport team from Fort Dix, N.J., that will transfer him into federal custody.
