There was a heavy police presence at the Ontario Court of Justice Tuesday morning as the man accused of murdering a Comfort Inn employee last year made his first court appearance.
Raja Dosanjh, 24, is accused of murdering Aly Sunderani, 35, on March 1 of last year. Sunderani was the manager of the Comfort Inn on Silvercreek Parkway North, where the mid-afternoon shooting took place.
Sunderani later died in hospital.
At the time police said there was no threat to further public safety and that they believed it was a targeted shooting.
Guelph Police Service tactical unit officers were stationed inside and outside the courthouse, checking individuals as they entered. A small convoy of unmarked vehicles later led Dosanjh back to jail following the hearing.
Dosanjh was arrested by RCMP officers in Burnaby, B.C., on Saturday and brought to Guelph. He made a brief court appearance and the matter was put over until March 7 to give Dosanjh time to retain a lawyer. He will appear by video from jail on that day.
He was represented by duty counsel at Tuesday's appearance.
Three members of Sunderani's family were in attendance at Tuesday's court appearance. A woman believed to be his mother broke down in tears during the hearing.
Dosanjh, tall, clean shaven, with short hair and an athletic build, sat quietly during the hearing, his leg pumping up and down nervously. He turned his face away from the gallery the entire time and when he was led out of court held his forearm up to shield his face.
He spoke twice: once when asked his name and another time in response to a question from Justice of the Peace Ralph Cotter.
A publication ban on the details of the court appearance was put in place.
