William Case, 59, formerly of 21 Hunt St., Nashua

NASHUA – The man Nashua police shot at a Hunt Street residence after a September standoff wants released from jail on his criminal threatening charge.

A Superior Court judge on Tuesday agreed to continue until March a hearing on former Nashua resident William Case’s motion for reconsideration, and at the same time denied Case’s request to be released from jail.

Case, 59, faces one count of criminal threatening – deadly weapon, a Class B felony that accuses him of “coming within 5-6 feet” of a neighbor while armed with an air rifle, which police said is similar in appearance to a regular rifle.

The charge stemmed from an hours-long standoff at Case’s then-21 Hunt St. home, which police surrounded after Case allegedly pointed the rifle at first-responding officers, then retreated into his residence and refused to comply with police orders to exit the home unarmed.

The ensuing standoff came to an end when, shortly after midnight, Officer John Colangelo fired one round from his patrol rifle, striking Case in his chest, according to a report from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office.

Case was “almost simultaneously” struck with a non-lethal beanbag round, which Officer Matthew Foss fired, the AG report said.

On Friday, the AG’s office released their findings of the investigation into Colangelo’s use of deadly force, which determined that Colangelo’s “shooting of William Case was a legally justified use of deadly force.”

Case spent about six weeks in a Massachusetts hospital, where he was treated for the gunshot wound and other physical injuries, and then held in the hospital’s psychiatric wing.

Nashua police arrested him on Oct. 29 after learning he was out of the hospital and back in Nashua. He was ordered held on preventive detention, and has been jailed since.

Judge Charles Temple on Tuesday scheduled the hearing to resume on March 23, and take place in Superior Court via video conference.

Also on Tuesday, Temple reaffirmed his earlier decision to hold Case in jail, writing in his order that the court “will not consider personal recognizance bail” until he receives the results of Case’s mental health and risk-assessment evaluations.

Meanwhile, Temple stated in his notes that the psychiatric expert chosen to evaluate Case’s competency status is waiting to receive the remainder of Case’s medical records in order to complete his report.

Attorney Jeannie Leider, the public defender representing Case, “has been forwarding the records” to the expert, but it’s become a lengthy process because, according to Temple, “Mr. Case refuses to produce some of the records for evaluation purposes.”

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256, or at dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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