Case of murder suspect in laptop theft goes before grand jury

PRINCETON, W.Va. (WVVA) – Murder charges against an 18-year-old Princeton man in connection with the theft of a laptop computer will be forwarded to a Mercer County grand jury.

A preliminary hearing for Carlos Lee Manuel Lopez was held Thursday in Mercer County District Court. Magistrate Judge Mike Flanigan's office said that after hearing testimony, a probable cause of action was determined and the case was forwarded to district court and a grand jury.

Lopez is accused of shooting and killing Shaileshbhai “Sam” Patel on Kee Street in Princeton in June. An unnamed juvenile has also been charged.

At the time of the incident, Mercer County District Attorney Brian Cochran called Patel's shooting over a laptop a “cold-blooded murder.”

Lopez remains incarcerated at the Southern Regional Jail on $750,000 cash or surety bail.

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