BY FRANK DELANO
A Westmoreland County judge yesterday set May 28 as the trial date for a 71-year-old man charged with murdering his brother-in-law.
After a 30-minute preliminary hearing, General District Judge Gordon A. Wilkins found probable cause that Raymond Lloyd Sandifer of Coles Point shot his brother-in law Joel Tropper about 1:30 a.m. Sept. 27.
In a recording of a 911 call played in court, a male voice apparently said, "I've just shot my brother-in-law." Screaming, presumably from the men's wives, could be heard in the background.
Wilkins also sent two other felony charges against Sandifer to the county grand jury: using a firearm while committing a felony and shooting a gun in an occupied building.
But the judge found Sandifer not guilty of a misdemeanor charge of reckless use of a gun.
Westmoreland sheriff's Investigator Tommy Wilkins (no relation to the judge) testified that when he arrived at Sandifer's home on Grannys Bar Road he found Tropper slumped in a chair, wearing a blood-soaked, green T-shirt.
He said he also found a .38-caliber revolver in the kitchen with two spent bullet casings. Police found one bullet in an upstairs bedroom. An autopsy found the other bullet in Tropper's body, Wilkins said.
Sandifer spent two months in jail but is now free on bond.
Testimony at yesterday's hearing suggested no motive for the shooting.
Tropper was a 57-year-old real-estate broker from Gaithersburg, Md. He was married to Sandifer's sister. According to a friend of Tropper, the two couples enjoyed a European cruise together in early September.
The wives of the two men were asleep when the shooting occurred. The Gaithersburg Business Gazette quoted Alice Tropper as saying the women awoke to find Tropper slumped in the chair and Sandifer attempting to turn the gun on himself.
Frank Delano: 804/333-3834
Email: fpdelano@gmail.com