NH Supreme Court accepts appeal of accused murderer who wants out on bail; says shooting was self-defese

MANCHESTER, NH – The New Hampshire Supreme Court will take up the appeal of a city man accused of killing another Manchester man in a road-rage incident last October on South Willow Street.

Tyrese Harris, 22, appeared briefly Thursday in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District where he entered not guilty pleas to charges of reckless conduct for driving his vehicle, a deadly weapon, recklessly, and one count of falsifying physical evidence for destroying, concealing, or removing the handgun used allegedly to shoot and kill Dzemal Cardakovic, 45,  in order to impair its verity or availability in an investigation.

Harris is charged with two alternative counts accusing him of knowingly or recklessly committing second-degree murder in the Oct. 31, 2022, shooting death of Cardakovic.

Judge Diane Nicolosi ordered Harris held without bail, a decision the defense is appealing to the Supreme Court which accepted the case on Feb. 2.  The issue, according to the appeal filed by Attorney Benjamin St. Pierre, is whether the Superior Court erred in detaining Harris without bail.

In her order denying bail, Nicolosi said the evidence in the case is “exceedingly strong” that Harris knowingly and recklessly killed Cardakovic.

“There are a plethora of eyewitnesses who describe the shooting.  The defendant discharged his weapon at close range with the bullet striking the victim’s head, a vital area.  The defendant has been identified as the shooter by his girlfriend and a neutral eye witness who had a good view of the defendant’s face as he fled,” she wrote.

She said the real issue in dispute, for purposes of bail, is “whether the State can disprove that the defendant acted in self-defense or defense of his girlfriend and her unborn child when he discharged his firearm.”

Nicolosi said prosecutors, at a hearing last December, proved by “clear and convincing evidence” that the defendant committed second-degree murder and did not act in self-defense or defense of another.

The shooting happened after Harris cut off Cardakovic’s truck when Harris drove onto South Willow Street from an exit ramp. Two children were with Cardakovic in the cab of his commercial truck.

When he was cut off, Cardakovic beeped his horn loudly three times and Harris, in response, gave him the middle finger.

Some witnesses described Cardakovic as tailgating the CRV as they drove to the first stop light.  At the light, Harris threw a metal cylindrical object out his window, striking the hood of Cardakovic’s truck.

One witness told police the object was thrown after Cardakovic got out of the truck, while others said it was thrown before which, Nicolosi said in her order is “much more likely given the timing of the firearm discharge and the defendant’s description that he did not see Cardakovic approaching.  In either case, the throwing of the object in response to the blowing horn was a provocative and hostile act.”

Once Harris threw the object that hit Cardakovic’s truck, Cardakovic got out of the truck, went to the driver’s side of Harris’ SUV where he tried to open the door, spat at Harris and reached into the SUV to grab his shirt.  Harris reached down into the center of the SUV, grabbed his gun and fired one shot to Cardakovic’s head, killing him.  Harris then allegedly fled the scene.

Nicolosi said it was not reasonable for Harris to believe Cardakovic, who was unarmed, was about to use deadly force against him or his pregnant girlfriend, who was in the passenger seat.

“To be sure, it is clear that Mr. Cardakovic by trying to open the defendant’s door, spitting on him and grabbing his shirt desired to do more than just talk, and that he intended to engage in some physical altercation with the defendant if he could get him out of the car.  He did not, however, punch the defendant in a vital area or attempt to do so,” she wrote.

The judge said Harris invited the confrontation, not only by responding to the honking with an obscene gesture but by throwing an object at the truck while they were stopped, while armed with a gun.

She said Harris clearly provoked the use of force and shared the same desire for a confrontation as Cardakovic.

“Although Mr. Cardakovic’s actions were certainly no more lawful or justified than the defendant’s acts prior to the shooting, the defendant escalated the encounter to an in-person physical confrontation.  Such affrontive behavior is consistent with anger and impulsivity, conduct that is occurring all too frequently on our roadways,” Nicolosi said.

Harris, instead of firing a gun, could have rolled up his window or driven a ways as he did immediately after shooting Cardakovic, the judge said.

“Finally, the use of non-deadly force, the display of the weapon, may have deterred the victim from remaining had the defendant allowed sufficient time to pass for the display to have had an effect before the trigger was pulled.  The defendant shot within seconds of the victim’s approach,” Nicolosi said.

“Finally, the use of non-deadly force, the display of the weapon, may have deterred the victim from remaining had the defendant allowed sufficient time to pass for the display to have had an effect before the trigger was pulled.  The defendant shot within seconds of the victim’s approach,” Nicolosi said.