A day after his release from prison, man who kicked roommate to death detained for drunkenness

LACONIA – Within one day of his release from N.H. State Prison, a former local man who kicked his roommate to death in 2011 was detained by city police for drunkenness.

Police Capt. William Clary confirmed yesterday that officers responded to Keasor Court Sunday night for a disturbance complaint and detained Jason Durgin, 40, of Pleasant Street in Concord.

Belknap County Corrections Superintendent Daniel Ward said Durgin was taken into jail custody just before 11 p.m. Sunday and released Monday at 9:30 a.m. He is not facing any new charges.

In June 2012 a Belknap County jury convicted Durgin of negligent homicide for the 2011 beating and kicking death of Leo LaPierre – a transient who occasionally stayed in the trailer Durgin rented behind Quik Laundry on South Main Street.

LaPierre was found unconscious by some friends of one of Durgin's other roommates and she called the police. He was taken to Lakes Region General Hospital and flown to Dartmouth- Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon where he died about six days later without regaining consciousness.

When police first arrived at the home around 9:30 a.m., Durgin and his roommate refused to come out of the trailer. The roommate testified at his trial that he held her down on the bed and refused to let her go to the door and speak with the police. Eventually the two came out of the trailer without further incident.

The roommate also testified that the night before, she saw Durgin punch and kick LaPierre during an argument.

After his conviction, Durgin received the maximum sentence of 3½ to 7 years in State Prison. Credited with 406 days of pre-trial confinement, Durgin served 2½ years and was released on parole on Nov. 13, said Jeff Lyons, a spokesman for the State Department of Corrections.

Lyons said Durgin is on parole until April 29, 2018.

In December of 2013, the N.H. Supreme Court upheld Durgin's conviction in a unanimous decision. He had argued that his defense team had been prohibited from offering an alternative theory of the crime and that one of the witnesses against him had allegedly unlawfully used his EBT card.

Clary said the LPD would be notifying Durgin's parole officer about his department's recent contact with him.