Opinion ID: 2507854
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Murder of Ashokkumar Patel

Text: While defendant was at the Circle K, Lopez and Galloway went to a bar. Defendant was already home when they returned. Around 1:30 a.m., the three left in Lopez's car to look for cocaine but were unsuccessful. At defendant's suggestion, they stopped at Hanshaw's Liquor Store on West Lincoln Avenue on the way home. Defendant directed Lopez to park the car on the street (instead of in the parking lot) and went inside. Lopez observed that defendant still had his gun. Defendant returned about 10 minutes later. He was carrying two 12-packs of beer and told Lopez to drive home. When they arrived, Lopez saw defendant counting money in the bedroom, but it did not look like much. Anaheim police responded to a report of a burglary at Hanshaw's at 4:16 a.m. When they arrived, they heard a faint voice behind the counter. The clerk, Ashokkumar Patel, had been beaten and shot in the back but was still alive. Patel said he had been robbed and shot by a short Mexican male. Around $90 was missing from the register. Police set up surveillance outside defendant's apartment later that day. Galloway's mother, Jean Brock, had found defendant's gun and hid it. When defendant arrived home around 10:00 p.m., he asked Brock, who was on the phone with the police, where his gun was. Following police instructions, Brock told defendant to leave. Defendant was arrested by police outside the apartment. Brock received a $500 reward for her assistance. The 11 casings from the Circle K and the single casing from Hanshaw's had come from the .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol found at defendant's apartment. Police also found a .45-caliber magazine hidden in the stereo speaker in defendant's bedroom and a .45-caliber casing under the mattress. Singh's driver's license and other identifying documents were found in a wallet underneath an end table in the living room. A Citibank card with Patel's picture and other identification were found in a dresser drawer in the bedroom defendant shared with Galloway. An Indian religious medallion and some Indian currency were on top of the dresser. Patel died 11 days later of multi-organ system failure caused by the bullet wounds. He also suffered blunt force trauma that caused bleeding into the brain.