MANCHESTER, NH — Dale Holloway, who admitted to beating his public defender days after he allegedly shot up a Pelham wedding, was sentenced Thursday to 7 ½ to 15 years in prison for assaulting the attorney in an interview room at the Valley Street jail.
“I thought I was going to die,” said Michael Davidow, 52, in his impact witness statement He told Judge Diane Nicolosi, presiding in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District, he supports the prosecutor’s recommendation that Holloway, 39, of Manchester, be sentenced to the maximum 7 ½ to 15-years for first-degree assault, although he contended it was not long enough.
He believes the attack was not just an assault but actually an attempted murder. An attempted murder conviction in New Hampshire is punishable by up to life in prison.
Davidow initially did not remember what happened because of memory gaps but eventually he recalled the assault that occurred on Oct. 21, 2019, what he said had been an ordinary Monday.
He entered the secured room at the jail and shook hands with Holloway.
“He just pulled me and attacked,” he said. “I don’t know how he got around the table. I will tell you the first blow was a stunning blow.”
He said there was a pause and then Holloway attacked again, striking him over and over. He said he now understands what it means to see your life flash before your eyes.
“I thought my son would grow up without his father,” Davidow said of his then 6-year-old child. “I thought I was going to die on the floor of a locked cell in the Valley Street jail.”
The assault “ended when he chose to end it,” he said. Jail personnel only became aware of the assault after Holloway tapped on a window to get an officer’s attention.
Davidow suffered severe head injuries including a brain bleed and a broken nose in the attack, requiring hospitalization in the intensive care unit of the Elliot Hospital. His face was swollen and bruised, he was in pain, suffered headaches and endured nightmares.
A defense attorney for more than 20 years, he said he doesn’t go to the jail anymore. He has filed a lawsuit against the county as a result of the assault.
Davidow asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence saying the assault was not only an attack on him but, as an officer of the court, it was “an attack on this court.”
He also said Holloway has not “shown a shred of remorse” for his actions. Holloway later briefly addressed the court and apologized to Davidow and asked the court to impose a lighter sentence.
Prosecutor Brian Nicholas Greklek-McKeon, in asking for the maximum sentence, pointed out Holloway was twice in prison in Massachusetts for assaults and was on parole when he attacked Davidow.
Attorney Brian Lee, who was appointed to assist Holloway in representing himself at trial, asked the judge to impose a more lenient sentence.
Lee said Holloway endured seven years of hell in prison in Massachusetts. When released, he moved to New Hampshire and obtained a job at the Fisher Cats stadium. It was a peaceful time for him, he said, then his stepfather was murdered and Holloway was “back in a storm of violence and death.”
Holloway, he said, grew up with violence. At the age of 9, his friend was murdered. In the sixth grade, he was hit by a stray bullet and later in life he was beaten so badly he needed 500 stitches and lost the sight in his right eye.
His life became one of being “hypervigilant.” Hypervigilance and paranoia were at play the day of the jailhouse attack, he said.
Lee said on that day Holloway acted out of fear and perceived Davidow as a threat since the public defender’s office was representing the man charged with killing his father, a preacher, and “he strikes.”
Lee said he wasn’t justifying what Holloway did, but said he felt it was important for people to hear it.
Lee said when the guards arrived, the first thing Holloway said is, “I’m sorry.”
He said if Holloway intended to murder Davidow, there was nothing to stop him.
Lee also pointed out that Holloway has been jailed for 584 days and during that time he contracted COVID-19 and was in quarantine. He has not had a visitor the entire time, other than an attorney, Lee said.
Nicolosi said to think that Davidow was some kind of threat “is off the mark.” She said it was scary to think that something so small resulted in this “type of behavior.”
She said because Holloway represented himself she got to know him and found him to be a very complicated, intelligent and respectful man.
However, she said she could not disregard the sentences he served in Massachusetts. As a result, she agreed with the prosecutor’s recommendation and gave him the maximum sentence.
Holloway is still facing charges in the Pelham case. The shooting took place on Oct. 12, 2019, at the New England Pentecostal Ministries church. Holloway is charged with the attempted murder of Bishop Stanley Choate, 75, second-degree assault for recklessly causing injury to the bride Claire McMullen, 60, who was shot in the arm, and simple assault for striking the groom, Mark Castiglione, 60, in the head with a firearm, among other charges.
The wedding took place the same day and place as the funeral for Luis Garcia, 60, of Londonderry, Holloway’s stepfather, who died Oct. 1 at his home after being shot in the neck. Brandon Castiglione, 24, of Londonderry is accused of second-degree murder in Garcia’s death. Castiglione is Mark Castiglione’s son.