Opening statements were heard today in the Richard Walls murder trial. The Cheektowaga man is accused of fatally shooting Md Rawnaq Ratin.
Ratin’s death sparked prayers and protests in the neighborhood. Nearly two years later, jurors are hearing competing accounts of what led to the shooting, with prosecutors arguing Walls committed murder and the defense maintaining he acted in self-defense.
During opening statements in Judge Betty Calvo-Torres’ courtroom, prosecutor Justin Caldwell told jurors the dispute began amid ongoing neighborhood concerns about young people gathering on Cedar Road and smoking marijuana…