Man charged with murder outside temporary Manchester homeless shelter
Jan. 3—A homeless man has been formally charged with shooting and killing a fellow shelter resident on the steps of a temporary Manchester homeless shelter nearly two years ago.
Timothy Johnson, 41, faces alternating second-degree murder charges in the February 2021 shooting death of Jean Lascelle, 67, as he smoked a cigarette outside the former Manchester police station.
According to previous news stories, Johnson walked behind Lascelle and shot him in the head. Johnson was on the loose for about four days before police n Framingham, Mass., arrested him in a stolen car.
He fought extradition from the Bay State, but eventually arrived in New Hampshire last April.
Telephone calls left for the prosecutor in the case, Ben Agati, and public defender, Caroline Smith, were not returned.
A Hillsborough County grand jury issued the indictments against Johnson last month. The Hillsborough County Superior Court Clerk released them on Tuesday.
Both Johnson and Lascelle were staying in a winter overflow shelter that was being operated by Families in Transition at the old city police station. Residents have said that they avoided Johnson because of erratic behavior — screaming out words that made no sense and speaking to himself.
Many of the filings in the Johnson case are sealed, especially those from his lawyers seeking state funding for unidentified services. Such filings often precede a competency issue.
When mental illness is involved, defense lawyers often file competency petitions, claiming their client's mental illness prevents them from raising an adequate defense.
In July, a judge noted that his lawyers have not identified competency as an issue.
If convicted of second-degree murder, Johnson faces a maximum prison sentence of life with the possibility of parole.
One indictment claims Johnson acted knowingly, the other claims he acted recklessly with an extreme indifference to the value of human life.
He also faces charges of firearm possession by a felon, and two counts of falsifying evidence (for allegedly disposing of the gun and allegedly disposing a coat worn during the shooting).
He has been held at Valley Street jail in Manchester since his return to New Hampshire in April.
