Oklahoma appeals court upholds Tulsa murder convictions

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A state appeals court upheld Thursday the murder convictions and life sentences of a man convicted of killing two men at a Tulsa motel.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rejected claims by James Mahdavi, 47, of improper evidence and testimony, prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective trial counsel.

An attorney for Mahdavi did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Mahdavi was convicted in the November 2016 shooting deaths of Rodney McGee and Leroy Coleman.

Prosecutors said Mahdavi and McGee had argued inside a room at the motel and Mahdavi was told to leave. Mahdavi returned and shot McGee outside the room, then shot into an adjacent motel room, killing Coleman.