John DeLee (left), Timothy Pouliot (Right)
A New Hampshire man accused of killing another man outside of a popular Manchester bar faces up to life in prison when he heads to trial this week. Opening statements are expected to begin Tuesday in the trial against John DeLee, 22, for the death of Timothy Pouliot, 24.
DeLee was charged with second-degree murder for the alleged bar fight killing — however, his attorneys maintain he was acting in self-defense.
The crime
Note: The following details can be attributed to DeLee’s arrest affidavit and accompanying court documents.
Timothy Pouliot (Lambert Funeral Home)
In the early morning hours of Jan. 28, 2023, DeLee and Pouliot got into a verbal altercation inside The Goat Bar and Grill.
According to court documents, on the night of the alleged crime, DeLee and Pouliot were at the bar with their own friend groups. Tensions grew between the two groups after someone from Pouliot’s group allegedly “got a little too close” to one of the women in DeLee’s group.
Pouliot was later heard saying he could punch out DeLee in “one punch” because he “was a professional fighter” — and he was going to punch out DeLee by the end of the night. When DeLee was notified about Pouliot’s comments, DeLee allegedly flashed a gun and said “I’m not worried, I have protection,” according to investigators.
DeLee and Pouliot were later seen chatting at the bar and surveillance video showed DeLee pushing Pouliot. Bouncers broke it up and DeLee was escorted away.
Two minutes later, according to court documents, Pouliot’s friend approached DeLee — still inside the bar — and punched him in the face. The friend and DeLee allegedly wrestled on the floor before bouncers broke up the fight and escorted DeLee out of the bar. DeLee could later be heard yelling “who punched me?” and “I’ll fight you!”
Surveillance video from inside The Goat shows the moments leading up to a deadly shooting (hearing video evidence).
Eventually, both friend groups left the bar. A video then showed DeLee standing on the sidewalk outside The Goat with his friends. Moments later, one of Pouliot’s friends is spotted going up to DeLee. The two exchanged a few words before DeLee punched the friend in the face. Another one of Pouliot’s friends then approached the brawl and can be seen pointing what appears to be pepper spray at DeLee. DeLee allegedly then pulled out a gun, and it fell on the ground, he picked it up, and “racked it.” After this — Pouliot’s friends backed off and the two groups separated.
Cellphone video later captured the groups approaching each other again. The video clearly showed Pouliot punching DeLee in the face. Then, according to court documents, DeLee raised his gun and fired off multiple shots at Pouliot.
The arrest
John DeLee (Manchester Police Department)
DeLee was arrested shortly after the altercation. Court documents show he made several admissions to police, stating “those kids tried to fight us for some reason” and “I can’t believe I just f—– up everything.” He also allegedly asked investigators, “Is there some legal defense to getting punched in the face? I just reacted.”
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office confirmed Pouliot’s cause of death was from multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of death was homicide. Pouliot was shot nine times.
In February, DeLee’s defense filed a motion for the judge’s consideration that claimed DeLee was acting in self-defense when he shot Pouliot and that DeLee was not the aggressor.
According to local reporting, in a court hearing, the defense argued “there was no physical force applied by Mr. DeLee at the time of the shooting until he’s punched in the face.” Surveillance video shown in court captured the entire shooting.
Ultimately, a judge ruled that DeLee could not have acted in self-defense and rejected his defense team’s motion.
Timothy Pouliot (GoFundMe, Michelle Pouliot)
The indictment
In April, a Hillsborough County grand jury returned several indictments that charged DeLee with second-degree murder.
- Charge #1 — One count of second-degree murder for knowingly causing Pouliot’s death by shooting him.
- Charge #2 — One count of second-degree murder for recklessly causing the death of Pouliot under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life, by shooting him.
- Charge #3 — One count of reckless conduct, in that DeLee recklessly placed another in danger of serious bodily injury, by means of a deadly weapon, by firing a pistol multiple times in proximity to occupied motor vehicles and/or pedestrians.
The trial
Opening statements are scheduled to begin Tuesday. In a recent court hearing, the state and defense argued about whether or not the state is legally able to call DeLee as a witness in its case. Allegedly, DeLee possibly heard a statement before the shooting that Pouliot and his friends had guns on them, and the state wants to question him about that.
However, a judge didn’t rule on the request from the state, but DeLee can legally testify in his own defense before his team rests its case.
The trial will be streamed live on the Law&Crime Trials YouTube channel.
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