Witness chased after murder suspect, reaching speeds of more than 100 mph

MANCHESTER, NH – A witness to the killing of a truck driver last October on South Willow Street testified he followed the shooter as he fled the scene in an SUV, reaching speeds of more than 100 mph on Goff’s Falls Road and Brown Avenue.

It was the second day of testimony in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District in the trial of Tyrese Harris, 22, of Manchester, accused of shooting Dzemal Cardakovic, 45, in the face on Oct. 29, 2022, in a daylight road rage incident.  Harris is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, falsifying physical evidence, and reckless conduct, for the manner in which he allegedly drove a Honda CRV in fleeing the scene.

Robert Holden of Bedford testified under a grant of immunity regarding any charges he could have faced related to the way he drove that day.

He said he was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Kaye and South Willow streets – across from the Mall of New Hampshire — when a beeping sound caught his attention.  The sound was coming from a white semi-truck, with no trailer, which was behind a blue Honda CRV in the southbound lane on South Willow Street.

Holden said he saw a “gentleman” get out of the truck.  At the time, he said, his light changed to green and he started to move when he looked to his left and saw the man walk to the driver’s side of the Honda CRV.

“The door opened up and an arm came out with a gun,” he said.  “I heard a loud shot, a bang and I’d seen the gentleman grab his chest and fall backwards right in the middle of the street.”

Holden said he just stopped in the intersection.  “I was in shock,” he said.  “I couldn’t believe what I had seen.”

The driver of the SUV, identified as Harris, backed up the Honda and then drove around traffic, and past Holden on his driver’s side, heading south on South Willow Street.

“He looked right at me,” Holden said.  “I looked right at him.”

Holden, who was driving a Range Rover, made a U-turn and began following Harris.  “My fiancee (Kelly Marino) was screaming,” he said as he followed Harris down South Willow Street.

Harris cut through the gas station at the Common Man to reach Goff’s Falls Road.  Holden did the same.

As he followed the SUV, Holden said he was on a 911 call with dispatch telling him what was happening.  He estimated he was driving at 70 to 100 mph but said he kept 8 to 10 car lengths back from the Honda because “I was a little scared because I had Miss Marino in the car.”

When they reached Brown Avenue, he said Harris went through a red light and then crossed a double-yellow line into oncoming traffic.   Holden said he did not follow him.   He last saw the Honda driving on I-293, heading towards Bedford.

Assistant Attorney General Nicholas Chong Yen played the 911 tape of Holden’s call in which he gives dispatch the license plate number.

Holden described the driver as having a man bun, a rough goatee and wearing a red plaid shirt.  In the courtroom, he pointed to Harris as the man he saw driving the SUV although he said “his appearance has changed.”

In court, Harris wore black glasses, was clean-shaven and had short-cropped hair.  He was dressed in a blue shirt and tie, with a rosary around his neck.

Under cross-examination by Defense Attorney Pamela Phelan, Holden said he did have a “very fast” Range Rover and he could have been driving well over 100 mph when he was following Harris.

He said police could have asked him to stop following Harris but that “everything happened so fast.”  Phelan read a portion of the transcript of the 911 call in which the dispatcher told Harris, “I am telling you do not follow him.”

When police interviewed him, Holden told them he thought about hitting the SUV with his car.

The defense contends Harris shot Cardakovic in self-defense.  Harris had cut off the truck driver and Cardakovic pursued him. On South Willow Street, Cardakovi laid on his horn twice, got out of his truck, went to Harris’ SUV, tried to open the car door and spat on him through the partially open window.  Harris’ pregnant girlfriend was in the passenger seat.  The defense said he was defending himself and his girlfriend.

Chong Yen, in his opening statement, played a recording of a phone call from the Valley Street jail where Harris is detained.  Harris was recorded saying, “He spit on me. What was I supposed to do?”

“So, boom, right?” he said. “Your life was took ’cause you disrespect. Disrespect gets your life taken.”

The prosecutor maintained the shooting was “Harris’s own form of street justice for disrespect and not self-defense.   This is murder, plain and simple.”

Cardakovic died instantly after being shot in the face at close range. His 11-year-old son and 9-year-old nephew were in the truck when the shooting took place.

The trial is expected to last five to seven days.

If convicted of second-degree murder, Harris could be sentenced to up to life in prison.

Jeffrey Hastings of Frame of Mind Photo contributed to this report.