At first, it reads like a clear-cut case of police brutality, even manslaughter.
One witness to the shooting, Ty Snitko, an employee at the Jitter Beans coffee shop on Main Street , said he saw the trooper pull over a man in front of the shop. He said the man (Yuksel) got out of the car when asked, but began resisting when the officer put his hands on him.
“The two of them then started fist-fighting and slap-fighting and whatnot,” Snitko said.
After a few minutes, the man started walking toward the cruiser. The trooper walked up and pepper-sprayed him in the face, said Snitko.
Snitko said the man was “obviously blinded by the pepper spray and started flailing around.”
Snitko and another witness said the officer then pulled out his gun and shot the man in the abdomen at point-blank range.
“Right in the gut,” said Snitko of Peterborough. “No ‘freeze.’ No nothing.”
Sounds like some bitch-slapping turned into a deadly encounter for some guy just driving around, perhaps on his way for a double-latte, extra cinnamon, low-fat natural goat milk at the Jitter Beans Coffee Shop. But of course, there is always two sides to a story.
Hollis police charge that Yuksel beat his mother, Senka Fallon, 65, and gouged at her eyes, and beat her husband, Robert Fallon, 69, unconscious early Monday morning, in the home where they all lived. Both of the Fallons were seriously injured, but police believe they will survive, Hollis police Lt. James Sartell said.
Yuksel had a history of domestic violence incidents and convictions involving his mother, Nashua District Court records show, but Sartell said police have no information on what prompted the attack Monday morning.
…“He’s a big, strong guy. Very strong, very athletic,” Sartell said.
Senka Fallon called 911 at about 3:10 a.m. to report the assault, Sartell said.
“She felt that she was bleeding to death, that her son was going crazy, and she thought he had gouged her eyes out,” Sartell said. “She thought her husband was dead inside the residence.”
Police sent a bulletin asking police throughout New England to be on the lookout for Yuksel and his silver 2005 Pontiac G6, Sartell said. The notices warned police that Yuksel might be dangerous or suicidal.
“Our history with him is that’s a great possibility that he may have some desire to hurt himself or kill himself,” Sartell said.
…Yuksel had several prior domestic violence convictions, all involving his mother, Nashua District Court records show. Yuksel is a British citizen, but grew up in Hollis and had lived with his mother for the past 1½ years, Sartell said. Yuksel also has lived in Nashua , court records show.
Yuksel was arrested in Nashua on charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer April 30, 2004, court records show, but the charges were dismissed after Yuksel complied with an order to undergo counseling, court records show.
He served two months in jail after being convicted of shoving his mother into a hallway wall April 14, 1999, court records show. Yuksel told police he’d lost his temper because his mother had nagged him about getting a job.
…Police cited prior cases involving Yuksel and his mother, including a 1992 domestic violence assault charge that was dropped at her request, and a 1996 conviction for which he got a suspended jail sentence. Nashua District Court staff were unable to find immediately the file on that old case, but their computer records confirm that he was convicted March 28, 1996, in a case stemming from a Dec. 30, 1995, domestic violence arrest.
So the cops have information in hand that this guy is dangerous, has beaten his mother and her husband, and that he’s dangerous. And then they have this guy saying that the cop shot Yuksel “point-blank”, “no freeze, no nothing”.
Hmmm… what to do. What to do.
Well, considering who the weirdo is that gave them the “eye witness” description of the shooting, they did the only thing they could logically do!
Investigators are asking witnesses to the Marlborough incident to call state police at Troop C in Keene at 271-1158.
Yup, that might be a good idea. Get a real witness
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