No Homicide Charges In Dover's Shooting Death

CONCORD, NH — The Attorney General's Office will not file homicide charges against Justin Sabattis, who shot and killed Dover resident Raymond Eldridge II in December. The shooting happened on Dec. 18 at Castaways Boathouse restaurant and bar in Dover. Prosecutors cannot disprove that the shooting was in self-defense, the AG's Office said Thursday.

Dover police responded to Castaways around 10 p.m. on Dec. 18 after a report of a man with a handgun. On scene, they found Eldridge, 34, lying next to a pickup truck with a gunshot wound to the chest. Despite attempts to save his life, he died of his injury.

During the police interviews about the incident, 46-year-old Sabattis said he shot Eldridge in self-defense, after Eldridge entered his pickup truck and threatened his life, according to the AG's Office. The handgun was legally owned.

The investigation into the case involved interviews with all potential eyewitnesses and review of the surveillance footage that captured the interaction between the two men, who did not know each other. According to the AG's Office, they had a verbal argument inside of Castaways, after which Sabattis left the establishment. About 10 minutes later, he returned in his pickup truck, reentered the restaurant and pulled out a handgun, which prompted initial calls to police, the AG's Office stated. He began to argue with Eldridge, who also pulled out a handgun. Neither man pointed his weapon and no shots were fired inside the restaurant, the AG's Office stated.

After a brief verbal exchange, Sabattis again left and got into his pickup truck. Within seconds, Eldridge and his friend went to the pickup truck. The friend went to the driver's side of the truck, and Eldridge entered the passenger side. Sabattis told the investigators that Eldridge then threatened to kill him, at which point Sabattis fired his handgun, the AG's Office said.

According to the AG's Office, Eldridge's friend is the only eyewitness to the shooting and was unable to refute the claims of self-defense. The video surveillance does not refute those claims either, the office stated.

New Hampshire law states that use of deadly force is only justified if Sabattis reasonably believed that Eldridge was about to use deadly force against him. To secure a conviction against Sabattis, the state would have to disprove his self-defense claim beyond a reasonable doubt. Although Sabattis did lie to prosecutors about some factors of the incident — such as making a false claim that he never brandished the handgun inside the restaurant — his credibility issues are not enough to disprove self-defense, according to the AG's Office.

After the investigation was completed by the AG's Office, the case was referred to the Strafford County Attorney's Office for consideration of potential nonhomicide charges, but no such charges were brought against Sabattis.