good job why should he be home with his family living a life after he murdered someone...

good job why should he be home with his family living a life after he murdered someone...

I found it quite unsettling that a private citizen in a sleepy Cranston neighborhood would say . . . "I drew my weapon" . . . as if it was commonplace to have one on his person. This man is a lose cannon and our community is grateful that defense attorneys didn't come up with an angle to relese this menace back into society while awaiting trial. One small victory for his victims.

Justice will be served when he is put away for life

Why can a man NOT defend himself from someone that comes onto his property, swears at him, threatens him, then swings at him, knocking him down the stairs? I would do the same thing

FINALLY!! Anyone who can shoot another human being and then calmly tell a 911 operator that he was "in the right", was OBVIOUSLY aware he was NOT and was using his police training to simply cover his butt!!!

And please, can we STOP referring to him as a "retired Providence Police Officer"?? He was on the job for 6 months... he was NOT on the department long enough to be considered a "retired" anything!!! Least of all, a Police Officer!! It's an INSULT to those who serve the public with HONOR!

If Mr. Gianquitti didn't intend to shoot Mr. Pagano, then why was he carrying his weapon? Most people do not walk around their homes with a loaded gun in their pants (I hope)! Sure seems like he had every intention of shooting Mr. Pagano and possibly others. It's a shame Mr. Gianquitti didn't use his free time (disability time) to do something to HELP society instead of helping to destroy the very fabric of it!

They got it right. He was shot in the back when he was going away

Justice has been served!!

This man was walking around his home with his gun...He shot Mr. Pagano in self defense...how could that be when Mr Pagano was shot in the back...

If a pristine yard and peace and quiet is what this man wanted what was he doing living in Garden City? Obviuosly, no homework was done before he bought his home!

The lives of the Pagano family have been ruined as well as those of the wife and daughter of the shooter!!

The first step in justice has been served today. I pray that continues until his life and freedoms have totally been taken away like Jimmy's has. Let the punishment fit the crime! Lots of praise for Judge Bucci. Thank you.

What if he was still a police officer, I think everyone would be saying it was self defense. Let the jury decide.

...Our Thoughts And Prayers To The Children & Family Of Lt. James A. Pagano...This State Should Be Ashamed Of Itself...The majority of you people are just disgusting...

What was the "victim" doing in the "perpetrators" house? I think maybe the "victim" saw one to many Soprano episodes. A man has a right to defend himself during a home invasion. The "Victims" father should be prosecuted for home invasion also.

2 thumbs up for judge bucci. give gianquitti what he deserves life in prison, for mr. pagano has no more life. what a shame. god bless mr. pagano 's family.

Thank goodness for Judge Bucci! What an excellent job!
Anyone that believes this man was in the right we should be concerned about as well. How can you say he was justified to shoot and kill a man when he was walking away???? And who walks around their own home with a gun in their pants? Again, just sounds like a person itching to have a reason to pull the weapon. Lastly, please stop insulting the Providence Police by calling him a "retired" Providence Police office...it's a disgrace to those who actually were and are...I don't think 6 months really constitutes him as anything other than a wanna be!

I'm not surprised he got on the phone to use "self defense" as an excuse. However - shooting someone in the back doesn't count as self defense. He clearly had thought about it before using the gun. I want to call him a loser - but clearly is a mentally sick man. There should be a law mandating psychological evaluations for those who have a permit to carry a weapon. I'm sure there's more where he came from.

What a farce that this guy is referred to as a 'retired' police officer. He was on the force for 6 months, and got himself a disability pension. Just another Rhode Island blood-sucking leech. I'll bet when he gets to prison he won't be calling himself a 'retired police officer'.

I sure hope that they decide to do the right thing and pull this guy's disability payments. I understand that he has a wife and daughter but he is held without bail for murder and shouldn't be allowed to receive the disability payments. I know there was a question with the City of Providence regarding this a week or so ago. They should give the money to the Paganos since the gentleman was an active duty firefighter.

To FD in NE: Gianquitti belongs in prison. If you ever do the same thing, so do you. No one has the right to kill someone else.

This was a bail hearing. This whole tragedy seems to be the result of longtime animosity between neighbors. I do not know the details but it sounds like it's possible that the Pagano's share some responsibility in this. There was a history of the children trespassing on Gianquitti's property and damaging his property. Even IF he is as odd as he is being made out, he certainly made it known that he was fed up with the antics of his neighbors kids. I do not understand the rush to judgment here. The guy will be prosecuted but is he a threat to society? I don't know but there is enough to suggest that this incident was the result of an escalated personal conflict between neighbors. I think the guy should have made bail but perhaps for his own safety, he is better off behind bars.

Are you kidding me!! Who in their right mind would even side w/this killer! They were walking away, if he was a real man he would of never shot him. Mr Pagano had every right to confront him, he was swearing at children! Did we forget that? So it is ok for a grown "man" to swear at children, and shoot someone! WOW. I'd like to see how people who feel this way would act if it was their dad, brother or whoever. I think he should rott in jail where he belongs!

(1) This pathetic loser has been sitting on his a** for more than 15 years while the taxpayers pay his salary tax-free and full health benefits for him and his family;

(2) Loser can't get off his a** to be a productive member of society and instead becomes a loner/scrooge who terrorizes his neighborhood while kids play outside.

(3) Loser walks around with a gun taunting people just waiting for someone to come onto his property so he can kill them.

(4) He shot the man in the back. If I have to hear one more person stick up for this lunatic, I am really going to lose it. There is no defense. Everything about this man is just wrong. Jim was protecting his little son and daughter from the cursing raving lunatic, anyone would have done the same thing. The man deserves the death penalty.

Reading some of these comments is intriguing. Those of you who actually can justify this situation frighten me. In 2008, in a supposedly free and civilized society, citizens can pull out weapons, shoot, stab or hey run over if they feel threatened, whether real or imagined and then be justified to do so? Are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? And we are in Iraq trying to teach their people how to live free? Hmmmmmmmmmm, I see little difference in the mentality if anyone can justify this.

TWO FAMILY DESTROY FOR LIFE KIDS WITHOUT THEIR FATHER,S STAY STRONG.

He's a retired police officer because he's living off the taxpayers with a "disability" pension after working so little if you'd blinked you would have missed it. Yet another parasite fattening off hard working taxpayers.

Number one everyone should be thankful this nut case is not still a police officer of anykind.
Number two what gives him the right to swear and curse at a group of little kids. Number three he was not defending himself he shot the man in the back, the biggest act of cowardice that i can think of. What was he doing carrying a loaded gun around his house in the waistband of his pants.Maybe if he had shot his essentials off it would have really taught him a good lesson. I just hope he gets what he deserves. I bet even his wife was afraid of him he sounds like a very abusive person to me.

I am happy with the decision to deny him bail. I agree he is a time bomb. He was just sitting and waiting to find a reason to explode. He really exploded by killing someone over something as petty as a soft ball hitting his car. Anger problems right from the start. As a parent, I would have confronted the person who is yelling and swearing at my children. He could have been more of a man and addressed it with an adult instead of lashing out at innocent children. It disgust me to hear him say so nonchalantly how he shot someone and he is right for doing it. I know everyone thinks he shouldn't deserve the title of a Police officer. He did go through the training. He must be bitter because he can't be a cop anymore. He carries his gun around to remind him of what he could have been. He also took advantage of his privaledges to have a gun. I think that rule needs to be changed. Why should he be able to carry a gun, when he is not a police officer anymore. In the eyes of the public he is a civilian just like us.

Though the shooter is obviously a loose cannon (and thank heavens only a short-lived cop), he has a point: Bothersome, disrespectful and noisy neighbors are hellish and unconstitutional - we all have the right to live in peace and quiet. Obviously the dead man was a wise guy and totally lacked respect for his neighbor.

If Gianquitti can chase down a neighbor while shooting at him, obviously he isnt "disabled". Perhaps the Providence Retirement board will take a cue from Judge Bucci and revoke the pension he does not deserve.

I was glad to hear the Judge did not let him out on bail. I hope he never gets to see another blade of grass in his life. He knew what he was doing. You do not walk around your home with a gun in the waist band of your pants. If he was so afraid for his life why didn't he call the police. James Pagano was walking away. Mr. Pagano must have had enough of this mans rantings, swearing & yelling at his children to take a swing at him. I don't blame him many parents probably would have come to that point. I'm just sorry it had to end the way it did. He sounds like he was one heck of a nice guy.

Sorry, this was not self-defense. If Jim Pagano had "attacked" Nicholas Gianquitti with a baseball bat, hammer or some other life-threatening object, perhaps I could see where Gianquitti would need to protect himself. Obviously, Pagano went there to vent. If Gianquitti was afraid for his life, he should have called the police, not "murder" someone. Makes me nervous to wonder how many other "ticking bombs" are walking our streets, ready to pull a gun if someone pisses them off. He needs to be put away.

will be an interesting trial. victim is killed upon bargin into the home of the defendent, punching attacking the defendent down a flight of stairs in the defendents own home? i smell "resonable doubt".

For folks like Ray Daigle, you just need to read the transcript of the bail hearing to understand what the law is, how it was applied, and why you are wrong.

Please do not rewrite history. The man assaulted those young children, verbally assaulted the deceased who may have been in his residence for 2-3 seconds after stumbling into the home after wrongly throwing a most justified punch, then shot an unarmed neighbor in the back.

Ray, try referring to real life law instead of TV shows when you talk about life and death. You are a disgrace to society and you perpetuate the widely held RI stereotype of ignorance.

He came up with this lame excuse because he was a cop. And a bad one at that. He hopefully will get what he deserves.

Bail denial is the first move in getting this settled. As far as this being self defense, there is the issue that he shot a person in the back as he was leaving the scene - sure doesn't appear to be "imminent danger". I have to question why this person was carrying a gun around the house if he was not intending to use it at some point. I have family members that are/were officers, as soon as they came home the gun and belt were removed and put into a safe place, not worn. This person should be given a thorough psych evaluation - at the minimum he has anger management and reality problems to get so upset over a tennis ball that the kids hit from their own yard into his. Obviously there was very little checking into the neighborhood before purchasing the hose, as he would have known it was a family one with kids around. Thankfully none of the kids were struck by his shooting the way he did.

For those of you who are trying to justify that Gianquitti had the right to defend himself by killing Mr. Pagano, obviously has not been reading all of the information provided by the Providence Journal. Remember, according to the journal and scripts, Gianquitti gestured to the victim to come inside; Mr. Pagano, did not "push his way in"!! It is very obvious that when Gianquitti did not respond to the three knocks at his door; he was seeking his weapon--the gun. All planned out!! . . . . .

A list of stupid actions ended in tragedy. First, Mr Pagano was wrong in going into the man's house to confront him. That's what we have police for. Second, what is Gianquitti doing with a loaded gun in his waistband while in his own home? Sounds like he was looking for trouble. Third, as soon as Pagano left the house, he was no longer a threat. Had Gianquitti shot Pagano in his house after being knocked down, it could have been considered manslaughter justified by self-defense. To follow him outside and shoot him in the back is murder. Pagano is not guilt free in this case, but Gianquitti is clearly a nut case.

FIVE KEY POINTS THAT ARE IRREFUTABLE
The short and poor of it - Gianquitti was quickly "exited" from the PD because of his personality issues/ fightng with other officers and his CO's and his peers should never have passed (or been allowed to pass) the pre-tests necessary to determine if he had the mental stability and prowess to be a real PO. Second: he had a concealed weapon permit - typically not carried in a waistband unless you imminently plan on using it (i.e. pre-meditated)- standing recommedations for CW location in a CW permit are hip, thigh or ankle holster (a shame he didn't misfire from his waistband before this day and take away what little manhood he had!) Third - Pagano didn't "force' his way in - The subject told him to step inside and he obliged (Gianquitti's own wife admitted this under oath and Pagano'sDad concurred!!!) Pagano's Dad is the one who stayed on the door threshold. Those watching form the street saw Pagano step inside when ushered from someone inside the hallway (Gianquitti) Since when is it OK to verbally assault kids -particularly if you are posing to be a man of the law (see item one above for that circular logic). Would he have shot a child if the child came to his door to ask for a ball back as one of he nieghbor's kids had to do before -horrible to think but possible - Gianquittis own wife had to intervene in that instance, deflate her husban's bluster and give the kids the tennis ball back. Fourth - for anyone on this blog who a) never played ball asa kid and b) never had it go errant into a neighbor's yard, drivewayc) never watched Dennis the Menis - well I'm sad for you ole sod - a ballin the yard is not a rationale for murder 9last I checked at least in this country) Perhaps the folks that have suggested as much are from one of the junta regions where that is acceptable. and Fifth - the perpetrator is a fragile(not softening on this one) miscreant. His wife and daughter have had to inervene on many,many,many instances over his OCD behavior and flagrant use of PO techniques as a civilian (he is a civlian folks - a civilian murderer). Anyone flaying Pagano in this blog should be ashamed - I mean truly disgusted by your own words - the guy is dead - sas shot in the back exiting a conflict was told to enter the house of the murderer and complied (Wolf rap spider analogy anyone?!) and his wife, children, friends and RI is all the worse for his murder.

I pray to God the children do not blame themselves for this tradgedy. I'm so sorry for what they had to see. The innocence in growing up in a safe environment taken away.