Trini cop charged with murder in New York

Sergeant Martin Peters, 41, was awaiting arraignment on a second-degree murder charge. The defendant, a native of Trinidad, was already facing federal charges that he became a naturalised citizen through a sham marriage. Federal and local law enforcement officials had previously identified Peters as a key suspect in the slaying of Juliette Alexander, 29.

The body of Alexander, a newly hired detention officer with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service, was found in the foyer of her Brooklyn apartment building January 16, 2001. She had been shot several times in the back of the head.

A second victim, described as a friend of Peters, Nigel Callender, was found inside the apartment with gunshot wounds. Callender was wearing a pair of latex gloves at the time, raising questions about his possible involvement, police said.

A third latex glove and shell casings from two different handguns were found at the scene; the weapons were never recovered. Callender had insisted Alexander was shot by a stranger, police said. At the time of Alexander’s killing, police said she and Peters were feuding over custody and support of their two children. A recent follow-up investigation revealed that Peters allegedly paid an American woman, not Alexander, $10,000 in the 1980s to marry him so he could become a citizen. An indictment filed in April accused him of falsely claiming that he lived with the woman for three years before filing a naturalisation application, which was approved. Last year, Peters sued the city, alleging he was wrongly placed on desk duty and denied a promotion following Alexander’s slaying.

The suit alleged Peters was passed over for a promotion to lieutenant because he is black. The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, also claims police officials "damaged the plaintiff’s professional and personal reputation" by labeling him a possible murder suspect.