Lawyers argue defendant’s intent in Stamford home invasion trial
STAMFORD — A judge on Monday heard closing arguments in a home invasion trial that could send a former Royal Bank of Scotland software developer to jail for 10 years if found guilty of illegally entering his former girlfriend’s apartment and holding her against her will.
Bhaumik Patel, 33, faces up to 75 years in jail if found guilty on all counts, including first-degree burglary and two counts of unlawful restraint for the incident that occurred at Woodside Green Condominiums on Summer Street in December 2015.
The bench trial has been held before Judge Gary White on consecutive Mondays. The trial began two weeks ago with the victim testifying about the terror she felt finding Patel in her apartment.
Patel testified for more than two hours last week and admitted to letting himself into the apartment with a spare key he had been given and tried to put packing tape over the woman’s mouth when she began screaming.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Valdes told White on Monday that Patel was guilty of home invasion.
“His intent was to accost her. He wanted to put tape over her mouth, so he could speak to her without her replying,” Valdes said. “His whole purpose of going there was she was avoiding him, did not want to speak to him and did not want to see him and he forcefully entered into her dwelling without permission to be able to speak to her. His intent was to clearly restrain her. If his intent was not to restrain her, then she just would have opened the door and walked out.”
Patel testified he let himself into her apartment because he had been there about 50 times since they broke up in 2015. Patel said he brought a duffel bag with him and it happened to have a roll of packing tape inside.
But Valdes said he was in the apartment for an hour, waiting in the dark, before his ex-girlfriend returned home.
The woman testified Patel tried to use the tape when she began screaming, but she was able to get it off her face. The woman said Patel then grabbed her and would not let her leave the condo.
During his closing arguments, Patel’s attorney Lindy Urso said his client did not intent to hold the woman against her will and did not want to commit a felony. He said his client did not commit a home invasion.
Urso said Patel did not realize the tape was in his bag until he got to the apartment.
“He was sitting in the room, thinking about what the conversation was going to be like and all those thoughts are going through his head. He’s thinking, ‘Oh geez, maybe she is going to be upset and scream and be startled,’ and it was then he decided to rip a piece of tape off with the possibility of putting it over her mouth,” said Urso, who called using the tape a “ham-handed, last-minute thought.”
Urso said Patel felt intense guilt because the woman was trying to get away from him and move to California. Urso said Patel was trying to tell her he was moving to New Jersey and she didn’t have to leave.
“He was trying to convince her not to ruin her life and he was going to move to Jersey and she did not have to go,” Urso said. “That was the reason he was going. He did not go there to put tape on her.”
White said he will issue his verdict next Monday.