Deshi was engaged to be married.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Following a rubber-burning car chase that exceeded 100 mph through three counties, a 15-year-old has been arrested and charged with murdering an Indian American convenience store clerk, Manav M. Deshi, on Tuesday in St. Augustine, Florida.
Friends told CBS affiliate WJAX-TV that 29-year-old Deshi was working his regular 12-hour shift on Tuesday when a 15-year-old male burst through the door with a handgun at approximately 2 p.m.
Police disclosed the teen obscured his face with a tied off handkerchief and sped off in a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee after the shooting.
Following the chase — which ended in Green Cove Springs after police first deployed spike strips to no avail and then resorted to ramming the speeding jeep — police arrested Sergio Morgan-Wideman, 15, of St. Augustine and Andre Jerome Robinson Jr., 16, of Gainesville, Fla.
Police initially charged them with grand theft auto, but Morgan-Wideman was charged Wednesday with robbery and murder, said St. Augustine police spokesman Mark Samson, per the Florida Times-Union.
Witnesses, which included two shoppers and a vendor who was stocking shelves at the time, informed WJAX-TV they overheard the teen demand money from Deshi, who was standing behind the counter.
After a few seconds, the teen pulled the trigger; St. Augustine police confirmed Deshi was killed instantaneously after being shot directly in the face.
Deshi’s friends revealed he had relocated to St. Augustine from Jacksonville two months ago to work at the store and was thrilled about his upcoming nuptials. Deshi’s family resides in India but are making the trip to Jacksonville following Deshi’s untimely death.
“He just started here a couple of months ago, but he was always smiling and knew everyone’s name,” said Lisa Washington, a regular customer at the Tobacco and Beverage Express, to WJAX-TV.
It was only last week that three suspects were identified in the murder of another Indian American store clerk named Sanjay Patel.
Patel worked at a gas station in New Haven, Connecticut. On the night of April 6, the 39-year-old — whose wife was pregnant at the time — sustained three shots to his chest and one to his hand after which he was rushed to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead.
Witnesses described seeing masked men dressed in dark clothing running from the scene. One of the three suspects has been taken into custody since their identification, while warrants have been issued for the other two, who are still at large.