MANCHESTER, NH – Tyrese Harris faces life in prison in the shooting death of a 45-year-old truck driver last year after a jury, deliberating about four hours on Tuesday, found him guilty of all charges.
Harris showed no emotion as the Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District jury foreperson said “guilty” when the court clerk asked for the verdict for each of the four charges: two counts of second-degree murder, reckless conduct and falsifying physical evidence.
Tuesday was also Harris’ 23rd birthday.
Assistant Attorney General Adam L. Woods, after the proceeding, said Harris can only be sentenced on one of the two murder charges; one charged him with knowingly causing Cardakovic’s death, and the other, recklessly causing his death. Woods said prosecutors will make that decision later.
“In this case, we put on all the facts we had and we’re grateful the jury considered them all,” Woods said. “We’re also grateful these verdicts can bring closure to the family.”
Family and friends of Cardakovic left the courthouse without commenting on the verdicts.
“My son isn’t what the media portrayed him to be,” said Kelly Miller, Harris’ mother, standing outside the courthouse. “He definitely made mistakes and that’s what they were, mistakes. He’s not cold-hearted. He’s not a thug. He’s not a gang member. He wasn’t raised that way. He grew up right and I will love him forever because one mistake doesn’t X-out everything he’s done so far that was good.”
The incident began at 3:22 p.m. on Oct. 29, 2022, when Harris, 23, driving a blue Honda CRV, cut off Cardakovic’s white semi-truck, as they were exiting Interstate 293 onto South Willow Street. It ended 25 seconds later with Cardakovic dead in the middle of the road after Harris shot him in the face, sending a bullet into his nose and out the back of his neck, according to prosecutors.
The daylight shooting was witnessed by numerous motorists stopped at traffic lights at the entrance to the Mall of New Hampshire. It also was witnessed by Cardakovic’s young son and nephew who were in his truck.
Witnesses who testified said their attention was drawn to the two vehicles when Cardakovic twice laid on the horn of his white semi-truck after Harris cut him off and drove onto South Willow Street. Harris then threw a metal object at the truck, hitting its windshield, about the same time Cardakovic was getting out of the truck.
Defense Attorney Aileen M. O’Connell, in her closing argument, said Harris was intimidated and fearful of Cardakovic, who outweighed him by about 100 pounds. At the red light, she said, Cardakovic got out of his semi-truck, ran to Harris’ car where he pulled on the door handle, then clutched his fists and through the partially open driver’s window, spat in Harris’ face. Harris feared he or his pregnant girlfriend, who was in the passenger seat, were going to be seriously injured and, in a split-second decision, fired the gun in self-defense, she said.
Woods said it wasn’t self-defense, it was cold-blooded murder. He pointed out that Harris’ girlfriend asked him after the incident why he shot Cardakovic. “I shot him” because “he spit on me,” he told her.
Several months later, in a phone call with his mother from the Valley Street jail, where he is detained, Harris repeated that statement. In the call, which Woods played for the jury during his closing argument, Harris told his mother he got spit on directly in the face and mouth.
“That’s assault, y’know? So, boom, right? Your life was took cause you disrespect. Disrespect gets your life taken. Respect gets you further in life,” Harris was recorded saying.
After the shooting, Harris sped off, reaching 100 mph as he drove down Goffs Falls Road, onto Brown Avenue and back onto Interstate 293 towards Bedford. Prosecutors said he careened in and out of traffic and drove into oncoming traffic to flee the murder scene.
The defense maintained Harris reached those high speeds because he wasn’t acting rationally because he had just been through a traumatic event and was being chased by Robert Holden. Holden, who testified under the grant of immunity for any charges that could be brought for his driving that day, said he drove more than 100 mph. in “following” Harris. As Holden pursued Harris, and with his fiancée in the passenger seat, he was on the phone with 911 dispatch, who told him to stop. Holden lost sight of Harris as he drove onto the highway but they managed to get Harris’ license plate number and relay that information to police.
Woods said Harris’ actions after the shooting were not those of someone who acted in self-defense. He said Harris drove to a friend’s house, where he changed his clothes and later ditched them and the murder weapon, a 9 mm pistol.
Police recovered a bullet casing from the back seat of Harris’ Honda when they searched it. It matched ammunition they later found on the counter of the Bodwell Road apartment where Harris lived with his girlfriend. They never found the gun which, Woods said, the ATF recorded as a Glock 19X.
The defense maintained that under the law, a person is allowed to use deadly force if he reasonably believes someone is about to use unlawful deadly force. A person doesn’t have to wait for the bad thing to happen, O’Connell said.
Prosecutors said being spit on does not give anyone a reasonable belief that deadly force is imminent.
Harris is to be sentenced on Aug. 31 at 9 a.m.