By Courtney Dentch
James Seecoomar Jr., 35, could face the death penalty if he is convicted of shooting his father, James Seecoomar Sr., 65, and Leonard Seecoomar, 35, as his 5-year-old nephew watched inside the family's Liberty Avenue home on March 27, 2002, the spokeswoman said.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown has 120 days to decide if he will seek the death penalty on the first-degree murder charges if Seecoomar is convicted.
Seecoomar was arraigned Monday in State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens and was remanded without bail, the spokeswoman said.
State psychiatric examiners had said Seecoomar was unfit to stand trial in October. He was re-examined and found competent June 29, the DA's spokeswoman said.
Seecoomar is charged with shooting his father and brother in the head during a family dispute in front of his nephew, 5, who was found by police sitting by the body of his father, Leonard. He was uninjured.
It was unclear what started the argument, police said. Seecoomar later told police that he believed his brother had sexually assaulted a young relative several years earlier, but the story was later discredited, police said.
Seecoomar initially told police he was returning home from buying cigarettes at a store at the time of the 8:30 a.m. shooting and saw a burglar climbing out a window of the family home, at 171-24 Liberty Ave. He said he chased the supposed thief but lost him.
No signs of forced entry were found at the house, and Seecoomar then told police that he had killed the two men, according to the criminal complaint filed by the district attorney.
Seecoomar's lawyer was unavailable for comment.
James Seecoomar Sr. was a Guyanese immigrant who brought his family to the United States more than 25 years ago. A year before the shooting he retired from his job selling restaurant supplies, family members said at the time of his Hindu funeral service. Leonard Seecoomar worked for a printing firm, they said.
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
