A former UAE resident was recently shot dead in a petrol station robbery in the United States. The man who shot Neil Kumar has finally been arrested and charged with murder and robbery.
Leon Terrell Flowers, 23, has been "charged with capital murder during the commission of a first-degree robbery," said Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas, according to WSFA.
Kumar, a 30-year-old Indian national, grew up in the city of Sharjah in the UAE. He was pursuing his master's degree in computer science at Troy University in the state of Alabama — where the shooting took place.
Last Wednesday, Kumar opened up the station early morning, where he had been working part-time. Shortly after 6 a.m., just four minutes after opening the station, a masked gunman, now identified Flowers, shot him at point-blank range before robbing cash from the station's mini-market. The incident was captured on CCTV and showed just how fast the shooting took place.
The 23-year-old suspect was taken into custody on Saturday morning. On Monday night, police announced that Flowers had been arrested and charged.
It is not yet clear whether Flowers knew Kumar before the crime. However, the surveillance video of the incident indicates "he knew what time the store opened," Thomas said.
Flowers has four felony convictions. In 2015, he was charged with felony murder in the death of 19-year-old Mantrell Jordan. Flowers was not the actual murderer in the case. However, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the time.
"He served three years, in excess of three years day-for-day," the DA said, according to WSFA.
"And then had the balance of 15 years, which would be 12, hanging over his head while he was released on probation. But he did this during that time on probation and was only out a few months."
"In my opinion, he shouldn't have been out to begin with," the DA added.