iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
An Indian-American hotel owner in Vernon, Connecticut was shot dead in his property during an argument over $5, on Sunday, June 27.
On a hot Sunday afternoon, Zeshan Chaudhry, 30, owner of Motel 6 was arguing with three people including the suspect, Alvin Waugh, over the cost of a pool pass. Waugh’s girlfriend offered to pay $5, but said they wouldn’t pay the full price of $10, police said.
Waugh, 31, of Hartford, at first fled the scene of the shooting but was found nearby a short time later. He was in custody on $2 million after his arraignment in Superior Court in Rockville Monday. His next court date is July 30.
“Mr. Chaudhry did not take the money,” police Sgt. Robert Marra told The Hartford Courant. “There was a verbal argument that ensued after that.”
Chaudhry told Waugh, who was staying at the motel with a friend, to leave, police said. But he instead went upstairs, retrieved a gun and came back down, Marra said.
“It sounds like the victim began to antagonize him,” Marra told the newspaper. “I don’t know if he knew that he had a gun.”
Waugh’s other charges include criminal use of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a permit and first-degree reckless endangerment. The gun was homemade, a report says.
Waugh ran into some nearby woods, but surrendered to police after being contacted on his cellphone.
He was being held in lieu of $2 million after his arraignment in Superior Court June 28 on charges including murder, criminal use of a weapon, use of a firearm for a felony, carrying a firearm without a permit, tampering with physical evidence, reckless endangerment and risk of injury to a minor.
He also was charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and risk of injury to a minor — the latter because children were nearby when he fired multiple shots, Sgt. Robert Marra said.
The shooting happened about 3:50 p.m. on the north side of the hotel, near the pool, Marra said. The temperature in the Hartford area hit 90 degrees on Sunday.
