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Unfonak's friends decry lack of justice in not guilty manslaughter verdict

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Jim Unfonak and Kelsey Mountain during their time together; at right a meme with a "Justice for Jimmy" message posted on her Facebook page early Wednesday morning. (Courtesy photo, image)

It didn't take long for the longtime girlfriend of Bang N Jane drummer Jim Unfonak to express outrage over the not guilty verdicts handed down in the Eric Langlais manslaughter trial on Wednesday.

"This verdict makes me sick to my stomach. I have absolutely no faith in the justice system," Kelsey Mountain said on her Facebook page around 1:30 p.m., about two hours after the verdict was handed down.

Langlais, however, was found guilty of negligent homicide in the death of Unfonak for punching him in the face, which caused him to fall heavily on the frozen parking lot of Gary's Sports Bar, cracking his skull open around 1:33 a.m. on Jan. 31, 2016. He never regained consciousness and was taken off life support the following day.

Mountain and many other friends of the popular drummer had watched much of the trial from the courtroom and followed it in the press, with Mountain as well as Unfonak's close friend Al Leeman testifying for the state.

Throughout Wednesday afternoon Mountain's Facebook page was inundated with messages condemning a justice system that allowed Langlais, 42, of Barnstead to avoid a manslaughter conviction.

"This is so disappointing that someone could get off so easy.. 7 yrs is not long enough for someone losing their life .." one commenter said.

Langlais, who faced up to 37 years if convicted on both manslaughter and riot charges, now faces three and a half to seven years for negligent homicide when he is sentenced in a couple of months.

Meanwhile, one of Langlais' attorneys, Joseph Welsh, said while he felt bad for the family and friends of Unfonak, his client never thought there was a substantial risk that he would have caused Unfonak's death from a single punch.

"Ultimately, we are thankful the verdicts resulted in a dramatic reduction of potential sentence Mr. Langlais could receive, however, we think that the evidence supported a full acquittal."

Welsh also thanked the jury for their hard work both during the trial and in deliberations.

Meanwhile, Assistant County Attorney Tim Sullivan, whom Mountain praised for his prosecutorial work on the case, also said he appreciated the work the jury did in listening to and deciding the case during the eight-day trial, but was disappointed for the friends and family of Jim.

Sullivan said he wasn't sure what tipped the scales against a manslaughter conviction but suspected it could have hinged on whether folks truly believe that one punch can actually kill a person.

"But we've seen it (a one punch death) around here at a bar in Portsmouth and other times," Sullivan said. "Let's hope after this people remember it can happen and hope it deters than from this kind of violence."

Gary Hillsgrove, who owns Gary's Sports Bar, said on Wednesday he and everybody at the bar felt terribly about what happened, but said the bar did everything by the book trying to keep Unfonak safe.

Langlais remains in custody at Strafford County Jail pending sentencing.

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