KANSAS CITY -
A man has been arrested in the robbery and shooting death of a clerk at an area convenience store, and authorities say that a can of fruit punch led to the arrest.
Phillip D. Martin, 19, faces second degree murder, armed criminal action and robbery charges in the death of clerk Gurpeet "Tony" Singh at a 7-11 store on Bannister Road in south Kansas City last week. The incident was captured on the store's surveillance cameras, and it was on that video that investigators say that they noticed a can of Arizona Fruit Punch that was left on the store's counter by the suspect moments before he robbed and shot Singh.
Singh later died at an area hospital.
Authorities say that fingerprints lifted from the can matched Martin's, who was already in the state's database from earlier arrests.
"He's not only 19, he has a kid," said Gurbhushan Singh, the victim's brother, about the suspect. "If I could change it by talking to all the 18 and 19-year olds, I would."
"If he had asked Tony for money without the gun, he would've given him some from his pocket because that's how Tony was," said Singh, who says that Tony Singh left two young children behind.
Singh says that it took only the one fingerprint to find a suspect in his brother's death.
"(It) may be a lucky break or dumb mistake on his part, but then again what do you expect from somebody who's 19 and shoots somebody for $50 to $60?" said Singh. "He made a choice and now he'll have to pay for it."
Martin is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. Prosecutors are seeking a $500,000 cash-only bond.
The entire incident was caught on surveillance video. WARNING: some of the images are graphic.
Rob Low, edited by Jason Vaughn
Phillip D. Martin, 19, faces second degree murder, armed criminal action and robbery charges in the death of clerk Gurpeet "Tony" Singh at a 7-11 store on Bannister Road in south Kansas City last week. The incident was captured on the store's surveillance cameras, and it was on that video that investigators say that they noticed a can of Arizona Fruit Punch that was left on the store's counter by the suspect moments before he robbed and shot Singh.
Singh later died at an area hospital.
Authorities say that fingerprints lifted from the can matched Martin's, who was already in the state's database from earlier arrests.
"He's not only 19, he has a kid," said Gurbhushan Singh, the victim's brother, about the suspect. "If I could change it by talking to all the 18 and 19-year olds, I would."
"If he had asked Tony for money without the gun, he would've given him some from his pocket because that's how Tony was," said Singh, who says that Tony Singh left two young children behind.
Singh says that it took only the one fingerprint to find a suspect in his brother's death.
"(It) may be a lucky break or dumb mistake on his part, but then again what do you expect from somebody who's 19 and shoots somebody for $50 to $60?" said Singh. "He made a choice and now he'll have to pay for it."
Martin is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. Prosecutors are seeking a $500,000 cash-only bond.
The entire incident was caught on surveillance video. WARNING: some of the images are graphic.
Rob Low, edited by Jason Vaughn
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
