MANCHESTER, NH – A city man accused of shooting another man in the abdomen Saturday night on Sundial Avenue has a case for self-defense, according to his defense attorney.
Kyle Bell, 24, of 52 Clough Ave., waived arraignment Monday in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District to charges of first-degree assault and reckless conduct.
He is accused of shooting Jesse Doyle, 34, during a heated argument.
Public Defender Julian Jefferson, in arguing that his client be released on bail, said based on the police investigation, Doyle had aggressively confronted Bell inside the gymnasium at the Manchester Ballers’ Assn., 3 Sundial Ave.
A resident of the complex video-recorded Doyle outside the building as he yelled at Bell while “holding his arms up and walking aggressively towards the shooter,” prior to a shot being fired, according to an affidavit filed in court by Detective Stephen E. Flynn.
A witness told police that during the basketball game there was an argument between a man named “Nate” and another man, presumably Bell. Nate called his uncle because he felt threatened and wanted his uncle to be there to make him feel safe. The uncle was identified as Doyle.
Doyle showed up at the gym and began to argue with Bell, who walked over to his gym bag, grabbed his legally obtained gun, racked it and pointed it at Doyle. The argument ended and Doyle left.
A short time later, however, Doyle returned, stood in one of the corners of the gym and again yelled at Bell and then left.
Bell waited a few minutes before leaving the gym, an indication Jefferson said that he did not want a fight. Once outside, Doyle confronted him, yelled at him and walked aggressively toward him, according to a witness. Bell fired his gun injuring Doyle.
The bullet struck Doyle in the abdomen and exited out his back. Medical staff at the Elliot Hospital deemed his injury as not life-threatening.
Jefferson told Judge Amy Messer that there is no information about what was said during the argument or if Doyle was holding anything in his hands.
Assistant Hillsborough County Attorney Amy Manchester asked the judge to hold Bell in preventive detention saying he is an “extreme danger to the community.”
She said he pulled out a gun inside a gymnasium and fired a round in a residential area. “That’s clearly dangerous behavior,” she said.
A witness, she said, also told police that prior to the shot being fired he heard Bell say, “Wait for my brother to get here so it’s a fair fight,” which the prosecutor said clearly showed Bell wanted a fight.
The judge said Bell will be preventatively detained at least until an evidentiary hearing is held at which information is to be provided as to the circumstances surrounding the altercation. That hearing has yet to be scheduled.