Manchester Man Found Guilty In Goffstown Shooting Case

MANCHESTER, NH — A man from Manchester was found guilty on three felony charges by a jury in Hillsborough County Superior Court North connected to a February 2022 shooting.

Christopher Lacerte, 22, was convicted on Friday of first-degree assault with a firearm and two reckless conduct with a firearm counts, all felonies, after a four-day trial. Lacerte assaulted and threatened a woman with a gun at his home. She later fled to a friend’s house in Goffstown, according to Shawn Sweeney of the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office.

“Lacerte located her around midnight,” he said. “He turned off his vehicle lights and waited in the driveway.”

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Despite receiving text messages from the woman asking him to leave the property, “Lacerte refused to depart,” Sweeney said.

“When the homeowner emerged and instructed him to leave, Lacerte remained on the premises,” he added. “Following a physical altercation initiated by the homeowner, Lacerte fired his weapon twice, striking the homeowner.”

Lacerte is being held and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8.

Hillsborough County Attorney John Coughlin commended Dets. Laroche, Oulette, and Defosses of the Goffstown Police Department for spearheading the “successful investigation.” Officer Leandra Nault, he said, “provided crucial assistance by recording the suspect vehicle’s registration as it fled, before a suspect vehicle had been formally identified.”

Coughlin also thanked the Manchester Police Department for safely apprehending Lacerte on the day of the shooting.

“Investigators later discovered bullet casings from the incident in the defendant’s vehicle, and the weapon was subsequently recovered during a search of his residence,” he said in a statement.

Assistant County Attorneys Jonathan Raiche and Kevin Dandrow prosecuted the case, with support from Mary Decker and Merrill Beauchamp, director of victim advocates.

Lacerte has a pending felony charge (marijuana less than 5 pounds or hashish less than 1 pound) out of Manchester from an incident on Feb. 7, 2022. He was indicted on the charge on Jan. 21. Lacerte has a status conference related to the charge booked for July 8.

Lacerte also has a $7,580 civil forfeiture case working its way through superior court. He is due back in court on Aug. 13 for a status conference.

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