Saturday shooter arraigned

James McNeil, 22, of Belmont was arraigned in Laconia District Court yesterday on a charge of first degree assault, a Class A felony, for allegedly shooting Corey Donovan of Laconia Saturday night. Ordered held on $25,000 cash bail, McNeil is scheduled to appear in Laconia District Court for a probable cause hearing on November 17.

In an affidavit in support of cash bail, Sergeant William Clary said McNeil "has a history of violence and has shown a lack of respect for human life." Along with arrests for second degree assault, simple assault, resisting arrest and robbery, McNeil has been convicted of witness tampering and simple assault.

At 9:13 p.m. Saturday night the police department received two calls reporting gunshots near 23 Messer Street and shortly afterwards a report from Lakes Region General Hospital that a patient was being treated for a bullet wound in the emergency room.

According to a police report, officers spoke with several people at the hospital, including Donovan, then being treated for a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and his brother Micah.

Clary returned to Messer Street with Micah Donovan, who said he was in the driveway of 23 Messer Street when he heard a shot from the front of the house. There he found McNeil struggling with his brother Corey who said he had been shot. McNeil ran across the street, carrying a gun, pursued by Micah Donovan. Donovan tackled McNeil and, after a struggle, disarmed him.

According to Clary, McNeil fled the scene in the company of others while Micah and Corey Donovan, accompanied by Jennie O'Connor and Tanita Landry, drove to 3 Bowman Street where they tossed the gun on the roof of the house, then drove to the hospital.

Clary said McNeil was arrested at his father's home in Belmont with assistance from the Belmont Police Department and Department of Parole and Probation.

Clary said the police were conducting an ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting, aimed particularly at discovering how McNeil obtained the firearm, a .22 caliber handgun, and who, if anyone, might have assisted him in avoiding arrest. He said others could be charged in the case.