NY Guyanese charged in two deaths fit to stand trial
Stabroek News
July 14, 2004
(New York Newsday) A Queens, New York man charged with killing his father and brother in front of his 5-year-old nephew has been declared fit for trial, officials said yesterday.
James Seecoomar, 35, fatally shot James Seecoomar Sr., 65, and Leonard Seecoomar, 35, during a family dispute in Jamaica on March 27, 2002, authorities said.
The father, an immigrant from Guyana who had retired from a restaurant supply company the year before, and the brother, who worked for a printing firm, were both shot in the head, police said.
Leonard Seecoomar's son, Julian, was found unharmed near his father's body, authorities said.
State psychiatric examiners had declared Seecoomar Jr. unfit for trial in October 2003. He was re-examined and finally found competent on June 29, according to records in State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens.
Seecoomar Jr., who was unemployed, initially told police that, while returning from buying cigarettes at a store, he saw a burglar leaving the house he shared with the victims and his mother at 171-24 Liberty Ave.
He was arrested the next day, however, after telling detectives he committed the killings.
Queens prosecutors have yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty if he is convicted of first-degree murder. Defence attorney Gary Alexion declined to discuss the case.