Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The murder trial against Nicholas Gianquitti, the Cranston man accused of gunning down his neighbor James Pagano, resumed at 2 p.m.

Superior Court Judge Robert A. Krause is giving the jury instructions before the case is turned over to them for deliberation.

Closing arguments will follow.

Gianquitti, 40, of 16 Daisy Court, was charged with fatally shooting Pagano following an altercation over the manner in which Gianquitti spoke to Pagano's children and nephews after they hit his car with a stray tennis ball while playing baseball on their cul-de-sac.

Gianquitti, who briefly served as a Providence police officer before retiring on disability, has said he shot Pagano because he feared for his life as Pagano came into his house.

Pagano, a Cranston fire lieutenant, died from a single gunshot to the torso, according to autopsy results. Dr. Alexander Chirkov, the state's assistant medical examiner, who conducted the autopsy, testified last week that the bullet entered through Pagano's lower back and traveled at a 45-degree angle, tearing through Pagano's aorta, pancreas and liver.

Gianquitti, indicted by a grand jury, faces charges of first-degree murder and discharging a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He has been held at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston since his arrest.

Get the latest blog posts from the trial.

Extra:Our continuing report on the shooting of James Pagano.

 Tags  Cranston Gianquitti James Pagano Nicholas Gianquitti

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