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Prosecutor Charges 2 Men In Troy Slayings

POSTED: 11:24 am EDT March 14, 2008
UPDATED: 7:39 pm EDT March 14, 2008

Prosecutors have charged two men in connection with the slaying of a Troy couple in what police said was a hired hit.

Miguel Angel Servando, 40, and Nelson Oswaldo Mendoza, 34, both of Texas were arraigned Friday.

Not guilty pleas were entered by the court of behalf of both men.

Police said one possible motive is a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed in Texas in 2006. Court records show the lawsuit accused a family friend of stealing $2 million of inheritance money.

"I just heard something about money. That's it," said neighbor Dhruv Sekhri.

Police said the crime scene was gruesome, with the husband and wife shot at close range, their bodies found in different bedrooms. The husband was Brij Chhabra, 65, and the wife was Aasha, 55, wheelchair-bound and suffering from multiple sclerosis.

"I don't know how they can sleep at night knowing what they did to them," said caretaker Ariel Castillo.

The two men were taken into custody after a routine traffic stop led them to the bodies. Taylor police said a search of the car turned up a handgun and some documents related to the house on Delaware Drive in Troy.

The men may have been on their way back to Texas.

"There is a really good chance if they had gotten out of the area, we would have had a homicide with no suspects, no way of running these people down," said Lt. Gerry Scherlink of the Troy Police Department.

Prosecutors said both men were in the country illegally and a judge just deported Servando last month.

Servando was arrested in 1999 for alien smuggling and in 2005 for possession of 19 pounds of marijuana.

"They came from out of state to kill two people in Oakland County. You will hear more about the details of that at the preliminary examination," said Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kenneth Frazee.

Judge Michael Martone denied bond. A preliminary examination is scheduled for March 20.

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