Attorney General rules Manchester shooting death in April was justified, case of self-defense

MANCHESTER, NH – A 23-year-old man was justified last April when he shot and killed Rodney Yancey, 43, outside a Bell Street apartment building, according to an investigation by the New Hampshire Department of Justice.

New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella, in releasing the 17-page investigative report on Friday, said Roy Nagle was legally justified in the use of deadly force when he shot Yancey three times outside 213 Bell St., killing him [read full report beow].

“Accordingly, no charges will be filed against Mr. Nagle,” Formella said in a news release.

Yancey was shot twice in the chest and once in the arm, according to an autopsy performed by Chief Medical Examiner Jennie Duval.  His blood alcohol level was 0.258, three times the legal limit of .08.

The shooting took place about 7:30 p.m. on April 4, 2023, at 213 Bell St. According to the 17-page investigative report, Nagle did not know Yancey and neither did his girlfriend, Syncere Mitchell, who lived there, nor her roommates, Dennis Carlsen and Brian Rosario, all of whom were in the apartment.

That night, Carlsen was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee when Yancey let himself in through an unlocked door, sat down at the table and began drinking a beer he had brought with him.

Nagle and Mitchell were in her bedroom.  Carlsen asked them if they knew the man sitting at the table and they said they didn’t.  Rosario, who was also home, said he didn’t know the man either and then Rosario went back to his room.

Yancey was asked to leave but he seemed confused and inebriated; he just stared at them without responding.  The only person he talked to was Mitchell who he looked at and said, “Reese,” then “Rodney.”

He eventually left after repeated orders from Carlsen and Nagle but he lingered outside on the porch, refusing to leave.  Nagle told investigators that he told Yancey he had to leave and Yancey said he was “going to stand here” and “enjoy the view.”

Nagle then pushed Yancey and he fell down the porch steps.  Yancey got up, walked onto the porch towards Nagle while brandishing a knife he had taken from his pocket.  Nagle, who was armed with a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol he legally obtained, pointed it at Yancey and repeatedly yelled for him to get back and leave.   Mitchell was standing near Nagle and told investigators she was afraid of Yancey.

Yancey continued to advance on Nagle who backed up as Yancey neared him.  Nagle still continued to point his gun at Yancey while telling him to stop.

When Nagle could not retreat any farther, he fired three shots in quick succession, stopping when he saw Yancey fall down on the porch.  He then called 911, reporting he had shot someone.

In concluding the deadly shooting was justified, the attorney general said Nagle and the other people in the apartment were confronted with a “situation that, objectively viewed, was strange.”

Yancey, neither a resident, guest or someone with whom anyone inside the apartment had a familiarity, entered the apartment without permission and acted as if he lived there.

“Attempts to communicate with Mr. Yancey were met largely by stares and incomprehensible replies.  Although Mr. Yancey was neither hostile nor acting dangerous during his uninvited entry and stay in the apartment, his actions were odd and likely constituted criminal trespass,” according to the report.

When Yancey remained on the porch and indicated he had no intention to leave, Nagle responded with non-deadly force – a push – to remove him from the premises.  That push was “likely lawful” given that Nagle was an invited guest and Yancey remained on private property without permission.

Yancey, in turn, could have responded with non-deadly force but he instead produced a knife – a deadly weapon – and advanced on Nagle with it.

“At that time, Mr. Yancey had no legal right to threaten the use of deadly force against Mr. Nagle, and he was the first of the two to do so.  It was only then, when Mr. Nagle saw that Mr. Yancey was armed and approaching that Mr. Nagle drew his pistol, which was a lawful act under the circumstances,” according to the report.

Investigators also said that although Nagle may not have been legally required to retreat, he did attempt to do so.

It was only when Nagle could not back up further and he saw Yancey “lunge” at him, and believed Yancey was about to stab him with the knife,  did Nagle fire at Yancey.

“At that time, and under those described circumstances, Mr. Nagle reasonably believed that he faced imminent deadly force from Mr. Yancey, justifying his own use of defensive deadly force,” according to the report. “Moreover, Mr. Nagle’s use of deadly force was not excessive.  He fired three shots, explaining that he stopped when he saw Mr. Yancey fall to the porch and believed that he no longer posed a threat.”

Below ⇒ READ the full AG report