Salem's Delee Said He Shot Manchester Man In Self-Defense

MANCHESTER, NH — John Delee, 22, of Salem, appeared in court Friday for the first time since he was charged with second-degree murder, accused of recklessly causing the death of Timothy Pouliot, 24, of Manchester.

The fatal shooting outside of the Goat Bar and Grill happened after a series of incidents inside the bar and the areas outside of the bar on Old Granite Street. A video widely distributed on social media showed Pouliot throwing a punch at Delee and Delee firing a gun nine times with eight of the shots striking Pouliot. The victim is seen falling to the ground where he was declared dead.

Delee’s attorney at an initial arraignment days after the shooting said he was confident his client would be found not guilty and he was defending himself.

An evidentiary hearing was held Friday, evidence was presented defending Delee and asking the judge to release him from jail while he awaits trial. Judge Steven Houran listened to prosecutors from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office say there was overwhelming evidence showing that Delee took several actions before the shooting that prevented him from using a self-defense claim.

Manchester police and Hillsborough County Sheriffs filled the hallways of the courthouse and stood guard in the courtroom packed with family and friends who were there to support the defendant and the victim.

The mother of Pouliot sat in the front row next to the victim’s advocate who worked to comfort her. At one point, when the video of the shooting played, several members of the victim's family cried, and Pouliot’s mother, Michell left the courtroom. Many of the people supporting the victim’s mother wore shirts that said “Hold The Vision, Trust The Process — Timothy Pouliot."

Delee, sitting at the defense table, was handcuffed and shackled, dressed in a house of corrections orange jumpsuit. Delee wore a protective mask except for one short moment when the judge asked him to answer some questions directly. Several times as audio clips and videos played, Delee was visibly shaking.

The one and only witness called during the hearing was Manchester Police Detective James Pittman, who took the judge through several surveillance videos, audio clips, and crime scene photos. Pittman said Delee had an encounter in the bar with a patron who bumped into him while dancing “erratically,” and bouncers had to move Delee from the area. In a different encounter, Delee had a physical fight with a bar patron, and the struggle ended on the floor with Delee having a cut to his face.

Delee was eventually escorted from the bar by staff and a Manchester police officer who was working inside the bar. Delee struggled with them and shouted at other people in the bar.

Pittman was asked to describe some of the autopsy findings performed on Pouliot. It was revealed that Delee had fired nine rounds, eight of which struck Pouliot. Four of the gunshot wounds were in the back or buttocks seeming to show Pouliot was turning away while the shooter continued to fire.

In a six-page order, Judge Houran detailed several events leading up to the shooting. Information includes:

Mr. Delee and his friends Mr. Soldano and Mr. Chandler were all at The Goat nightclub on Old Granite Street in Manchester, as were Mr. Pouliot and his friends Mr. Mendoza and Mr. Nash. Also at The Goat are a friend of Mr. Delee, Ms. Elliott-Orr, and two of her friends.

The first interaction between Mr. Delee and Mr. Pouliot occurred when, according to Ms. Elliott-Orr, Mr. Pouliot and one of his friends were “a little too close” to Ms. Elliott-Orr and her friends. According to Ms. Elliott-Orr, Mr. Delee and Mr. Pouliot had some “heated words” and then shook hands, and Mr. Pouliot walked away.

Later, according to Ms. Elliott-Orr, she heard Mr. Pouliot say words to the effect that he could punch “that big kid over there,” meaning Mr. Delee, in the face and knock him out with one punch, and that he was a professional fighter. She also reports that she heard Mr. Pouliot’s friend Mr. Mendoza say that he was going to knock him, meaning Mr. Delee, out before the end of the night. Ms. Elliott-Orr reports that she told Mr. Delee about what she heard, that Mr. Delee flashed his gun, and said that “I’m not worried, I have protection.”

In the next relevant interaction, Mr. Delee approached Mr. Pouliot at the bar and they exchanged words for a bit over half a minute. A person Mr. Pouliot had been talking with reports that during this exchange Mr. Delee challenged Mr. Pouliot to go out and fight. At the end of this exchange, Mr. Delee pushed Mr. Pouliot. Bouncers intervened and escorted Mr. Delee away.

A little less than two minutes later, Mr. Pouliot’s friend Mr. Mendoza approached Mr. Delee and punched him in the face,‘ and they then wrestled onto the floor. During this altercation, Mr. Delee sustained a visible cut to the face. Bouncers intervened and escorted Mr. Delee out of The Goat. While Mr. Delee was being escorted out, and after he reached the sidewalk outside, he was visibly agitated, repeatedly and loudly yelling words to the effect, “who punched me, who punched me in the face,” “I’ll fight you,” and the like.

While Mr. Delee and his two friends were on the sidewalk to the right of the entrance to The Goat, Mr. Pouliot exited The Goat and walked away to the left. Mr. Pouliot’s two friends, Mr. Mendoza and Mr. Nash exited The Goat, crossed the street, and got into a car. Mr. Nash, smoking a cigarette, then exited the car and crossed the street towards Mr. Delee and Mr. Delee’s friends. Mr. Delee and Mr. Nash exchanged words, and Mr. Delee then punched Mr. Nash. They exchanged a few more words, then Mr. Delee visibly offered to shake Mr. Nash’s hand. Mr. Nash visibly declined, and Mr. Delee then hit Mr. Nash with a second punch. At no point did Mr. Nash resist or fight back?

At that point, Mr. Mendoza exited the car and crossed the street to approach Mr. Delee and his friends. Mr. Mendoza pointed what has been determined to be a pepper spray canister at Mr. Delee, in close proximity. Mr. Delee pulled a firearm out of his waistband, dropped it, picked it up, and “racked” it.5 He does not appear from the video evidence to have pointed the gun directly at Mr. Mendoza. Mr. Mendoza backed off, and Mr. Delee’s friends pushed Mr. Delee, escorting him away, northward up the sidewalk.

Mr. Delee reached the alleyway to the north of the SoHo nightclub. By then, he had put the gun back into his waistband. That alley led to the parking lot where Mr. Delee and his friends had left their car. Mr. Delee walked down the alley, but then started walking back, drew the gun, then put the gun away again. One of his friends pointed and pushed him in a visible effort to get Mr. Delee to walk down the alley toward their car.

In the meantime, Mr. Pouliot’s friends Mr. Mendoza and Mr. Nash had followed Mr. Delee and his friends to the north, to a location across the street from the alley entrance. At about the same time, Mr. Pouliot had reversed direction and, despite Ms. Elliott-Orr’s efforts t0 stop him, and despite Mr. Mendoza yelling “he’s got a gun,” walked back past The Goat to approach Mr. Delee and Mr. Delee’s friends near the entrance to the alley.

As is apparent in Exhibit 9, a bystander’s cell phone video, at that point Mr. Delee, Mr. Pouliot, and at least three of Mr. Delee’s and Mr. Pouliot’s friends were standing in a rough circle. What was being said cannot be heard, but Mr. Pouliot can plainly be seen punching Mr. Delee in the face. Mr. Delee immediately raised his gun and fired multiple shots at Mr. Pouliot. As Exhibit 6 shows, Mr. Delee then walked down the alley with his gun still out, but then turned back, with the gun put away, and put his hands up.

After Mr. Delee was arrested, he volunteered to the effect that “those kids tried to fight us for some reason” and “is there some legal defense to getting punched in the face, I just reacted,” and “I can’t believe I just f____d everything up.”

There is not a legal defense to shooting someone in response to a punch in the face, at least on the evidence presently before the court. Just as Mr. Mendoza’s punch to Mr. Delee inside The Goat would not have reasonably justified the use of deadly force by Mr. Delee in defense, just as Mr. Delee’s first punch to Mr. Nash on the sidewalk outside The Goat would not have reasonably justified the use of deadly force by Mr. Nash in defense, just as Mr. Delee's second punch to Mr. Nash on the sidewalk outside The Goat would not have reasonably justified the use of deadly force by Mr. Nash in defense, Mr. Pouliot’s punch to Mr. Delee near the entrance to the alley did not reasonably justify the use of deadly force by Mr. Delee in defense.

Notwithstanding Mr. Pouliot’s earlier assertion overheard by Ms. Elliott-Orr to the effect

that he was a professional fighter and that he could knock Mr. Delee out with one punch, in the event, it does not appear that Mr. Delee — who was a foot taller than Mr. Pouliot and outweighed him by around 200 pounds — was fazed by Mr. Pouliot’s punch.

Summarizing the critical interactions between Mr. Delee and Mr. Pouliot the evening of January 27 into the early morning of January 28, 2023: While Mr. Pouliot was talking in close proximity with Mr. Elliott-Orr and her friends, Mr. Delee approached and he and Mr. Pouliot had heated words, after which they shook hands and Mr. Pouliot departed. Later, Mr. Pouliot bragged about knocking Mr. Delee out and being a professional fighter, information which was conveyed to Mr. Delee. Mr. Delee then approached Mr. Pouliot at the bar, challenged Mr. Pouliot to go outside and fight, then pushed Mr. Pouliot. Outside, Mr. Pouliot approached Mr. Delee and punched him in the face. Mr. Delee immediately raised his firearm and shot Mr. Pouliot eight times.

The court concludes that, based on the evidence presented at the February 24, 2023 hearing, the State has shown by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Delee could not have reasonably believed that Mr. Pouliot was about to use deadly force against him and that, accordingly, Mr. Delee did not act in justifiable self-defense when he shot Mr. Pouliot.

The court finds on the totality of the evidence presented on the record of February 24, 2023, that the State has met its burden of demonstrating that Mr. Delee is charged with Second Degree Murder, an offense punishable by up to life in prison, and that, by clear and convincing, the proof is evident that Mr. Delee committed that offense and that he was not justified by self-defense in doing so.

Delee remains in custody at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections, where he will be held until trial, which could take over a year to occur.

All contents ©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news

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