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The alleged stabber at the center of the bail reform firestorm remains free after a Hillsborough Superior Court judge refused to revoke his personal recognizance bail.

Judge Michael Klass denied Hillsborough County Attorney John Coughlin’s motion to have Kyle Bisson, 25, locked up pending trial on assault charges, saying video evidence shows the alleged victim was an aggressor in the violent Feb. 7 fracas.

“The video reflects that (the victim) and the defendant both played a role in this incident,” Klass said. “They both appeared to be aggressors at times.”

Bisson’s initial no-cash bail for the alleged violent assault, coupled with his prior domestic violence conviction, led to renewed calls for bail reform from Gov. Kelly Ayotte, Mayor Jay Ruais, and the Manchester Police Department.

Ayotte’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Ruais said he’s disappointed in Klass’ ruling but remains determined to see the bail system changed.

“From the beginning, this case has demonstrated the urgent need for Bail Reform and I am disappointed the defendant’s PR Bail was not revoked. This incident brought real violence to our downtown, threatening citizens and business owners, which is unacceptable,” Ruais said. “Despite today’s decision, I remain confident that legislators in Concord are listening and will get behind the necessary changes to our bail laws. Violent and repeat offenders need to stay behind bars,” Ruais said.

Court records show Bisson was released on personal recognizance bail after the police department’s prosecutor did not request cash bail during the initial arraignment. With calls for sanctioning the original Bail Magistrate Stephanie Johnson coming from Concord, Coughlin’s office filed a motion to have Bisson’s bail revoked.

But Klass said Wednesday the prosecutor does not have evidence to justify holding Bisson in jail before he’s convicted of a crime. While state law allows for defendants to be held pre-trial, that is typically reserved for people deemed a danger to the community.

Klass said the evidence in the case shows the alleged victim, Michael Perry, 42, instigated the confrontation that took place outside Bunny’s Convenience Store in Manchester. Perry reportedly used a racial slur to insult Bisson, and took the first swing, according to court records.

While Perry reportedly claimed to have a knife, but did not, Bisson actually had a knife when the fight began. Bisson stabbed Perry several times before Perry ran away and the knife wielding Bisson chased him, according to court records. 

When the fight was over, Bisson threw away his knife and jacket before calling 911 to report that he had been stabbed. Bisson did have a single stab wound to his chest, an injury that was likely self-inflicted by accident during the fight, according to the police report.

Ayotte used Bisson’s arrest and release as an illustration of the need for bail reform during a speech in the House chamber last week, saying it is unacceptable for people like him to walk free after a violent attack.

“What happened in Manchester last Friday night is completely unbelievable, when an individual accused of repeatedly stabbing a complete stranger, and who has a prior conviction for domestic violence, is allowed to walk free by a magistrate. I cannot emphasize this enough,” Ayotte told lawmakers. “Send me legislation to fix this once and for all.” 

If the current push for bail reform is successful, it will be the third time New Hampshire has tinkered with the system since Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bail reform bill in 2018.

That reform was supposed to eliminate cash bail for non-violent suspects. But the law’s detractors say it simply enabled repeat offenders to get out of jail and continue their criminal activity. A reform of the reform bill signed last year put a stop to the release of people re-arrested while already out on bail, as well as causing certain violent offenders to be only allowed bail after review by a judge or magistrate.

It appears the Bisson case fell within the framework of last year’s law. Bisson was not out on bail when he was arrested for the Feb. 7 fight. And he did get a bail hearing in front of a magistrate where the prosecutor did not seek cash bail.