The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld multiple convictions this month.
Raju Rawal
A Merrillville man appealed his conviction for killing Haley Losinski, 36, on Feb. 23, 2023, a Winfield nurse he had a sexual relationship with – saying there wasn’t enough evidence to convict.
In a 3-0 decision, Judge Leanna Weissman rejected Rawal’s appeal.
Rawal, 68, a Winfield gas station clerk, was the last person seen on camera at Losinski’s townhome and his DNA was found on her belly button ring, she wrote. He had the “motive and opportunity” to kill her.
In December 2022, Losinski became involved with another man, Harminder Singh-Heera, 24, while Rawal went to India for a month. Singh-Heera worked at the same gas station and was the owner’s brother-in-law, according to trial testimony.
Singh-Heera was investigated, but ruled out as a suspect since his DNA wasn’t found at the crime scene and cellphone records showed he was elsewhere in the time period Losinski was killed.
Winfield cops busted Singh-Heera for child porn when he handed his iPhone to investigators during the Losinski case. That case was later dismissed.
Rawal was sentenced to 60 years in December. His earlier release date is in 2068.
He can appeal the decision to the Indiana Supreme Court.
Trinidad Cervantes
The court also rejected an appeal for a Hammond man who was 19 when he allegedly shot another motorist dead who was headed home from work as a car dealer mechanic.
Trinidad Cervantes, now 21, was sentenced to 62 years in the May 2, 2023, shooting death of Rajesh “Reggie” Bhagwandeen, 26, on 165th Street in Hammond.
He argued his rights were infringed when prosecutors didn’t offer a reckless homicide option to the jury for deliberations, he alleged misconduct when prosecutors cross-examined him, and argued they improperly let a detective summarize his jail calls.
In a 3-0 decision, Appeals Judge Paul Mathias rejected his arguments.
At trial, Cervantes has a choice between self-defense and reckless homicide. He picked self-defense and “withdrew” a reckless homicide defense, Mathias wrote.
He also rejected prosecutorial misconduct when Deputy Prosecutor Jacob Brandewie asked on cross-examination if Cervantes knew Bhagwandeen was expecting a baby when he died. Brandewie asked to strike the comment from the record and the jury was told to disregard it, Mathias indicated.
The day before Brandewie’s comments, the Post-Tribune published a story where the victim’s father, also named Rajesh Bhagwandeen, said his son’s fiancée gave birth to a girl after his death.
Mathias wrote it was acceptable for a detective to summarize jail calls, since the audio was bad in the courtroom and the jury might not have made out what he was saying.
Cervantes can appeal. His earlier release date is in 2067.
mcolias@post-trib.com
