PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The state Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of a man found guilty of hiring someone to kill his brother-in-law who was also the manager of a Portsmouth motel.
Authorities say Tajendra Patel blamed the manager of Founder’s Brook Motel and Suites, Sanjeev Patel, for breaking up his marriage.
Tajendra Patel’s argued in his appeal that the trial judge erred when she admitted an in-court identification of the defendant and in admitting a 911 call that was “irrelevant.”
But the Supreme Court found in its decision Friday that there was “no clear error” in allowing the 911 call.
The gunman hired by Patel, Roger Graham, an immigrant from Barbados who lived illegally in New York City, was convicted in 2005 of the Jan. 1, 2002 slaying.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.