William Moore on trial for murder of Sheffield motel owner, multiple witnesses testify

COLBERT COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The man accused of shooting and killing a Sheffield motel owner goes on trial this week.

The trial began Monday, with jury selection. A jury was officially selected Monday afternoon and opening statements began Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning began with just an opening statement from prosecutor Hal Hughston, saying there was video surveillance and several witnesses that captured the moment Pravin Patel was shot and killed at the Hillcrest Motel. The defense attorney decided to suspend his opening statement.

Hughston then began calling witnesses to the stand, starting with David Montgomery, who lives just behind the Hillcrest Motel.

Montgomery told the court he saw Moore and Patel talking at the motel.

But the most dramatic evidence began with a Sheffield police investigator, who said there was security camera footage.

Then the video was played in a hushed courtroom. The video showed Moore walking a dog and walking near a room on the Hillcrest Motel property.

Pravin Patel is then seen in the video telling Moore that he had to leave the property and that Patel was not going to rent him a room.

As Moore walks away, the video appears to show Moore reaching his right hand to his waistband, grabbing a gun and shooting Patel, who then died.

A 911 dispatcher testified and two 911 calls were played for the jury. The callers seemed frantic and began describing what Moore looked like.

The day ended with an expert from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences telling the court his findings were that Patel died from multiple gunshot wounds.

The trial will continue Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. Judge Mitch Hays said he expected this case to conclude Wednesday.