Jason Levesque will remain in Strafford County jail after being refused bail by judge

Jason Levesque is escorted from the courtroom during a break in last month's trial. (CourtTV screenshot)

DOVER - Jason Levesque, the man who shot his neighbor six times during a confrontation over a snowplowing argument last April, is waking up in a Strafford County Jail cell today after his request for release following being found not guilty of attempted murder was denied by a judge.
Levesque, 45, of 41A Summer St., Rochester, was found not guilty of attempted murder, but guilty of first-degree assault on May 21 prompting defense lawyer Mark Sisti to ask for a bail hearing for his client, who has been in jail since his arrest on April 4, 2024.
During Friday's bail hearing, Sisti asked Judge Andrew B. Livernois to let Levesque be released on supervision from Strafford County Community Corrections.
Meanwhile, Assistant County Attorney Joachim Barth asked for continued detention, which the judge agreed to, meaning Levesque will remain in jail pending sentencing.
Last week the Strafford County Attorney's Office expressed disappointment after the jury came back with a not-guilty verdict on the attempted murder charge.
The fist-degree charge carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
An attempted murder conviction could've delivered a life sentence.
"I'm disappointed the jury did not come back with an attempted murder charge," County Attorney Emily Garod told The Rochester Voice.
It took less than a day for the 12-member jury to deliver its verdict after Levesque's March 20 testimony explaining that he blacked out after shooting the first shot.
Under questioning from defense attorney Mark Sisti, Levesque testified that exhaustion from being up plowing snow for 38 hours and his fear that the man he shot, Kyle Violette, was going to harm his family, led him to shoot his neighbor, with whom he shared a Summer Street duplex.
He told the jury he blacked out after he fired the first shot from his Glock handgun and didn't remember the additional five bullets he fired into Violette's back as he lay on the ground with blood spewing from his throat where the first bullet struck.
Under cross-examination from Barth, Levesque testified over and over that his answers during the initial police interview were also vastly different than what several surveillance videos depicted. Levesque told Barth that was because he was tired from working two days straight and emotionally distraught over the shooting.
"You said Kyle Violette was angry when you brought out your gun. And that he quickened his pace toward you," Barth said. "You said you could see he was trying to attack you by the look in his eye."
"That's what I remembered at that time," Levesque said.
"But the videos show that was not true," Barth replied. "That was a lie what you told police."
"No, that was me not remembering," Levesque testified. "Again I was extremely tired, I was doing my best to help him (the detective)."
A few moments later Barth continued his questioning.
"You said he kept coming at you after he was shot the first time," he said. "You said he kept coming at you, so you unloaded your gun. But the video shows he was not a threat because he was on the ground crawling toward his porch with a bullet in his head."
Levesque repeated the same explanation, saying he was tired when he was talking to police the night of the shooting.
Violette suffered six bullet wounds, including one to his mouth and five more to his torso. He spent more than a month in intensive care at a Boston hospital and has undergone several surgeries since.
The incident began when Violette confronted Levesque while he was plowing his driveway during a snowstorm, and the confrontation quickly escalated.
Violette told Levesque that if he plowed snow on his driveway he would kill him and his family.
A sentencing is expected during the late spring or summer.