(Photo illustration by JEFFREY HASTINGS) The scene of the late January fatal shooting outside a Manchester bar is taped off by police as they investigate the incident. John Delee, inset, is accused of killing Manchester resident Timothy Pouliot.

MANCHESTER — The Salem man accused of fatally shooting Manchester resident Timothy Pouliot outside an Old Granite Street bar last month has notified the court he plans to pursue a defense of self-defense, claiming he had reason to believe that “another person (was) about to use unlawful, deadly force” against him, causing him to fear for his life.

The notice, filed earlier this week in Hillsborough County Superior Court North, is expected to be addressed at Delee’s next court appearance, which is an evidentiary hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, in Judge Steven Houran’s courtroom.

DeLee, 22, of Salem, was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with one count each of second degree murder, a special felony, and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, a Class B felony.

The charges accuse DeLee of recklessly causing Pouliot’s death by shooting him eight times during a confrontation outside of The Goat Bar and Grill on Old Granite Street in the early morning hours of Jan. 28.

First responders called to the scene found Pouliot, 24, whose family includes his 3-year-old daughter, lying unresponsive on the ground outside the bar. Medical personnel administered emergency treatment, but Pouliot was pronounced deceased a short time later.

Meanwhile, Attorney Benjamin Falkner, who is representing Delee, wrote in the self-defense motion that his client expects the evidence to “demonstrate (Delee’s) reasonable belief that (Pouliot) was about to use unlawful deadly force” against Delee.

The evidence is also expected to show that Delee “displayed a firearm in order to warn away a person or persons making, or having made, a threat that a reasonable person would consider as likely to cause serious bodily injury or death to himself,” according to court documents.

Falkner has also filed a witness list with the court, and has indicated that the defense plans to call at least three of the witnesses to testify at the evidentiary hearing.

–JEFFREY HASTINGS