Jury Deliberates Fate Of Salem Man In January Manchester Bar Killing

MANCHESTER, NH — Jurors heard closing arguments from the defense team of John Delee, 23, of Salem, and prosecutors from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office on Friday.

Delee is on trial for the fatal shooting of Timothy Pouliot, 24, of Manchester, that occurred on Old Granite Street after they both left the Goat Bar and Grill in January. Pouliot died at the scene after an autopsy revealed he was shot multiple times when the suspect fired nine rounds. Pouliot was struck eight times; five of them were into the victim’s back.

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After the closing arguments, the jury was given detailed instructions by Judge William Delker and sent to deliberate at 3:15 p.m. Due to the court closing at 4 p.m., they were sent home for the weekend and will pick up where they left off Monday at 10 a.m.

The defense has presented a case that claimed Delee acted in self-defense and he feared for his life. Several times in the closing, the defense said the other men with Pouliot had pepper spray and Delee thought they might have guns. Also, they repeated eight times Pouliot was a trained mixed martial arts fighter and referred to him as a professional fighter.

Prosecutors brought several witnesses to testify that Delee was taunting people to fight starting inside the bar. One witness said he heard Delee said, “The next person to touch me gets shot” and other witnesses saw him pull and “rack” his gun and then drop it about 10 minutes before the shooting.

“He was looking for a reason to use his gun,” NH Assistant Attorney General Rachael Harrington said. “And he got exactly what he wanted. This case is about rage, not fear. This case is about retribution, not protection. This case is about murder, not self-defense.”

Delee is charged with second-degree murder and reckless conduct and could face up to life in prison if found guilty of both charges.

Thursday and Friday, people in the courtroom shouted messages of support to Delee at the end of the day while he was being removed from the courtroom to return to Hillsborough County House of Corrections.

Updates on the verdict will be published as the information becomes available.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news