'I want to kill Jimmy' testimony draws fire from defense

Gary's chief of security Terry Cooper, left, looks at surveillance video while under questioning by defense attorney Joseph Welsh as Judge Mark E. Howard looks on Tuesday at Strafford County Superior Court. (The Rochester Voice photos)

DOVER - Explosive testimony on Friday from a Gary's Sports Bar bouncer came under the crosshairs of the defense on Tuesday as the Eric Langlais manslaughter trial in the death of Bang N Jane drummer Jim Unfonak entered its fourth day.

Langlais, 42, of Barnstead, is charged in the death of Unfonak, 44, of Rochester, who was punched on the left side of the chin by Langlais early the morning of Jan. 31, 2016, after a night of acrimony and insults between the two over comments Unfonak is said to have made to a female friend of Langlais.

When Unfonak sustained the punch he fell back cracking the back of his skull on the frozen parking lot of Gary's, which caused his death, according to a Maine medical examiner who conducted his autopsy and testified last week.

Gary's head bouncer Terry Cooper spent the bulk of the trial day Tuesday under withering cross-examination by defense lawyer Joseph Welsh, who sought to paint Langlais as the nonaggressor during much of the evening at Gary's.

Defense team Richard Samdperil, left and Joseph Welsh confer as defendant Eric Langlais stands in the middle on Tuesday during a break in his manslaughter trial in Strafford County Superior Court in Dover.

The back and forth between Cooper and Welsh often grew tense as Welsh played video surveillance footage that showed Langlais sitting at the bar with his feet up on a nearby stool after the bar's last call had been made.

"Does that look aggressive?" he asked.

"It's also saying, he's not leaving," Cooper replied.

The bulk of Welsh' cross-examination of Cooper included frequent trips by Cooper from the witness box down to an area in front of the jury where a TV monitor had been placed so they could easily see the portions lawyers used to buttress their arguments.

Cooper made no less than 20 such trips from the witness stand, often within a minute or two between them.

But the toughest questioning from Welsh came around 3 p.m. as the court day wound down when he asked Cooper about the statements he made to police the night Unfonak was punched in the parking lot of Gary's as he went to get in a car that was to take him home.

Welsh recounted that Cooper had talked to two Rochester Police Officers shortly after the attack that night and never said the words he said Langlais screamed from outside the glass door at Gary's shortly before the fatal punch was thrown: "I want to kill Jimmy."

"The adrenaline was going through me," Cooper replied in explaining the omission. "I had just helped Jimmy into the ambulance, who had stopped breathing in my arms, so there was a lot going on in my head."

Welsh then pointed out that earlier this month Cooper had met with the prosecution to go over the video and prepare for trial as a state's witness.

"You never mentioned "kill" during that interview either," Welsh said. "Eighteen months later. Why not?"

He then gave Cooper a copy of the transcripted meeting with prosecutors. After looking at it a couple of minutes from the witness stand Cooper said, "It's not in there."

If Langlais is found guilty of manslaughter, he could be sentenced up to 30 years in prison.

Testimony continues today with the trial expected to go through Friday.

Whether or not Langlais will testify in his own defense is unclear.