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Man accused of killing store owner claims he was 'ripped off', planned to 'rough up' owner

Shawnathan Chance, 26, was arrested in Indiana on Friday after he was spotted speeding by troopers who were unaware he was wanted for homicide.

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — A North Carolina man who is accused of killing a Wheat Ridge store owner last week told a detective that he went to the gas station to "rough up" the owner because he believed he had been ripped off two days earlier, according to the arrest affidavit in the case.

Shawnathan Chance, 26, was arrested Friday in Indiana after he was spotted speeding by Indiana State Police troopers who were unaware he was wanted for homicide. Chance didn't pull over, and troopers chased him until he lost control and crashed, Indiana State Police said.

> The video above is a prior report about the case.

He's accused of attacking and fatally shooting Vesha Raj Lamicahhane at the Valero gas station/convenience store at 12300 W. 44th Ave. around 7:50 p.m. Thursday. Lamicahhane was the store owner.

Two customers called 911 that night after walking inside and not seeing anyone behind the counter. One of them reported that she went to the store weekly and always saw Lamicahhane, the affidavit from the Wheat Ridge Police Department says.

Credit: KUSA

When she didn't see Lamicahhane, she walked outside to look for his vehicle and noticed it was missing. She said his vehicle, a silver SUV, was usually parked on the west side of the lot near a U-Haul. She called 911 around 8:15 p.m.

An officer arrived, went into the store and made announcements but got no response, the affidavit says. The officer noticed two cans of soda and a $5 bill on the counter. He also saw that several items behind the counter appeared to have been knocked over and that a pair of glasses and a white hat lay on the floor.

The officer went to a store room and found Lamicahhane's body on the floor. It appeared that he had been shot, the affidavit says.

Security video

Security video from the store captured most of the incident. According to the affidavit, the video shows that Chance walked into the store around 7:50 p.m. grabbed a drink, paid for it and left.

About three minutes later, Chance reentered the store. He walked behind the counter and got close to Lamicahhane's face. The two appeared to argue. Shortly after, the video shows Chance putting Lamicahhane in a headlock, which knocked off his hat and glasses, the affidavit says.

Chance forced Lamicahhane to the store room at gunpoint, the affidavit says. Once in the room, Lamicahhane fell to the ground and was no longer visible in the video, but Chance was seen leaning over him, according to the affidavit.

The video shows Chance left the store room about 7:54 p.m. with a gun in his right hand. He was seen walking behind the register where he found a key fob. Before leaving, Chance went back to the store room and took Lamicahhane's wallet, according to the affidavit.

Security cameras outside the store captured Chance getting into Lamicahhane's SUV and driving up to the front of the store where he picked up a backpack. He then drove away.

Chance's statements

Chance voluntarily spoke with a detective in Indiana, the affidavit says.

He told the detective that while in Colorado, he went to a gas station and paid with a $5 and said the owner "ripped him off," the affidavit says. He said he returned two days later, on Thursday, with a gun to "get his money back," according to the affidavit.

Chance said he planned to use the gun for "intimidation" and was going to "rough up" the owner, the document says. He admitted that he forced Lamicahhane to the back store room and pointed a gun at him, the affidavit says.

Credit: Indiana State Police
Shawnathan Deangelo Chance

He said the gun "went off" when Lamicahhane reached up, and that while his finger was on the trigger, he "didn't mean for it to go off," the affidavit says.

Afterward, he admitted he took the key to Lamicahhane's SUV and stole the car, according to the affidavit.

According to the document, Chance said he tossed the clothes he was wearing and parts of the gun out the window during his drive from Colorado to Indiana. A gun magazine was seen in the back seat of his crashed vehicle, the affidavit says.

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