WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — A man suspected of attacking and fatally shooting a Wheat Ridge convenience store clerk Thursday night was arrested in Indiana after a chase and crash near Evansville on Friday morning.
He was identified by Indiana State Police as 26-year-old Shawnathan Chance, who is from Dunn, N.C.
Officers were called about 8 p.m. Thursday to the Valero gas station and convenience store at 12300 W. 44th Ave. after a customer reported suspicious activity.
"The person didn't see the clerk and thought that was odd. He wasn't behind the counter," said Joanna Small, a spokeswoman for Wheat Ridge Police. "Things looked maybe a little out of place, and that's why they originally called 911."
When police arrived, they found the store clerk, who was also the owner, deceased. He was identified Friday afternoon by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office as 53-year-old Veshraj Lamichhane.
Through video surveillance, it was determined that an assailant attacked the Lamichhane, ultimately shooting and killing him.
"We can surmise it was a robbery, but we have no idea why this individual decided to shoot the clerk," Small said.
The assailant then fled in Lamichhane’s vehicle, which was described as a Nissan SUV. An alert was issued to law enforcement nationwide to be on the lookout for the vehicle, Wheat Ridge Police said.
According the Indiana State Patrol, a trooper was patrolling Interstate 64 near Evansville when he saw a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder driving about 85 mph. The trooper initiated a traffic stop, but the driver kept going. After exiting the highway, the driver lost control and left the roadway. The SUV rolled several times and came to rest in an open field.
The driver, identified as Chance, was not hurt and was taken into custody. Small confirmed that Chance is the suspect in the Wheat Ridge killing.
He's being held on a murder charge as well as other charges in Indiana. Those charges include resisting law enforcement, possession of a stolen car and reckless driving.
"It's shocking for the community. People were very attached to that particular store. A lot of them knew the man who owned it," Small said. "There's a devastated family. There are friends that are devastated."
Dillon Corn works right across the street from the gas station. He said he went there almost every morning for the past year to buy coffee and chat with Lamichhane.
"Phenomenal guy, talk to him every morning, asks how your day is going, remembers small things, likes to talk about his family," Corn said. "It’s absolutely terrible. I couldn’t imagine it happening to a better person, he was just a nice guy, definitely didn’t have this coming."
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