MANCHESTER, NH – A city man is in the New Hampshire State Prison serving a 10 to 20 years sentence for shooting a Goffstown man in 2022.
Judge David A. Anderson, presiding in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District, on Tuesday sentenced Christopher Lacerte, 22, on one count of first-degree assault with a firearm, imposing the maximum sentenced allowed under law.
After a five-day trial last March, a jury found Lacerte guilty of the felony assault charge and also of two counts of reckless conduct with a firearm. He was given two, 3 1/2-to-7 year suspended sentences on those convictions, with 10 years of supervision beginning with his release from prison.
Lacerte was convicted of shooting Kaden Hawley, now 25, in a Feb. 7, 2022 incident that began in Manchester and ended in Goffstown. Hawley survived even though he was struck in the spine and bullet fragments remain inside his body. Prosecutors said Lacerte fired two rounds; one struck Hawley and the other was later recovered from a snowbank after the spring thaw.
Lacerte maintained he fired the gun in self-defense.
According to prosecutors, the incident began at Lacerte’s Manchester home where he pointed a gun at his ex-girlfriend. Lacerte’s then current girlfriend also attacked the woman.
The ex-girlfriend fled to Hawley’s home on Tibbetts Hill Road home in Goffstown. Later, however, she agreed to meet face-to-face with Lacerte and gave him the address where she was staying.
Lacerte drove to the Goffstown residence, arriving around midnight. He turned off his vehicle lights and waited in the driveway. His former girlfriend, however, changed her mind and sent him text messages, asking him to leave the property. Lacerte refused.
When Hawley went outside and told him to leave, Lacerte, sitting in his vehicle with the window down, refused.
Hawley, prosecutors said, punched Lacerte through the open car window, and as the ex-girlfriend approached, Lacerte fired two rounds, striking Hawley.
The ex-girlfriend was not physically harmed but prosecutors said she continues to deal with trauma from the violent incident.
The investigation was conducted by Detective Sgt. Kevin Laroche along with detectives Jason Ouellette and Thomas Defosses, all of the Goffstown Police Department. Officer Leandra Nault recorded the suspect vehicle’s registration as it fled. Lacerte was subsequently arrested.
Hillsborough County Attorney John Coughlin, in a news release, said prosecutors, the victims, and their families all commend the Goffstown Police Department for their “swift response and diligent investigative work that brought about justice. The case serves as a reminder of the serious potential consequences of domestic violence and gun violence in our communities. The maximum sentence reflects the severity of Lacerte’s actions and the lasting impact on the victims.”