Opinion ID: 2507854
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Murder of Tarsem Singh

Text: Defendant started drinking beer with Felipe Lopez, 16-year-old William Galloway, and a man named Fabian late in the afternoon of November 20, 1991, at the apartment where defendant lived with Galloway and his mother. The men also ingested some cocaine. Lopez observed that defendant had a gun in his waistband. Later in the evening, the adults went to a bar and a liquor store and returned to the apartment complex. A little before mid-night, defendant left again, this time by himself. Sometime after midnight, Gonzalo Chavez saw defendant outside the Circle K Market, which was about five blocks from the apartment complex. Defendant followed Chavez into the store. Chavez was about to buy cigarettes and gum when defendant pulled out a gun and demanded money from him and from the store clerk, Tarsem Singh. Defendant also asked Chavez for his car keys, but Chavez said they were in the car. Defendant cursed Chavez and pushed him and Singh towards the bathroom at the back of the store. Defendant said he would kill Chavez if Chavez came out. When Chavez pleaded with defendant not to kill him and pushed the gun away, defendant fired at the floor. Defendant then fired three or four shots at Singh, who was trying to get up from the floor. When the store bell rang to indicate someone else had entered the store, defendant returned to the front. A short time later, defendant led another Hispanic male into the bathroom. Defendant demanded car keys from his prisoners and then took the other Hispanic male out of the bathroom. At some point, defendant told Chavez and the other Hispanic male, I won't harm you because we're the same race, but don't point a finger at me. When defendant was not looking, Chavez hid in the ice machine. Meanwhile, more people came into the store, and defendant demanded money from each of them and told them to take off their clothes. Carlos Chacon entered the store to find defendant pointing a gun at another man's head. Defendant led Chacon and the other man to the bathroom and told Chacon to lie on top of Singh, who was bleeding from his gunshot wounds. Before Chacon could do so, defendant looked at Singh and said, You're still alive son of a bitch. Defendant shot Singh twice more, adding, This proves I am not playing games. Defendant brought Chacon to the front briefly to help him look for money and then led him back to the bathroom. When Rodrigo Pelayo and his brother arrived at the Circle K, defendant was holding a Hispanic male by the hair and had a gun to the man's head. Defendant ordered the Pelayos to put their money on the counter and to take off their clothes. A few seconds later, three to five more Hispanic males came in, and defendant told them to take off their clothes and put their money on the counter. He told this new group he was not kidding around. I already have dead man in the back. Defendant ordered the group into the bathroom and shut the door. A few minutes later, Allen Canellas arrived. Canellas was homeless and a panhandler and a drug addict, but Singh, the Circle K clerk, had given him some corn dogs and soda a few hours earlier. Canellas considered Singh to be a nice man. When Canellas entered the store, he found money on the counter and clothes piled up in front. He called out to Singh, but Singh did not answer. Instead, defendant came to the front of the store and asked, Can I help you? Canellas saw defendant had a gun and fled. Defendant fired as Canellas left through the glass door. Canellas felt the bullet whiz by his ear, kept running, and called 911. Meanwhile, another customer, this time an African-American male, entered the store and was ordered into the bathroom. The police arrived at the Circle K at 12:34 a.m. The glass door in front was shattered. There were two piles of clothing in the front and a .45-caliber casing on the floor. Singh lay dead on his left side in a pool of blood in the back of the store. He had been shot six or seven times. Eight people were in the bathroom. All were upset and frightened. The seven Hispanic males were naked from the waist up. The eighth, an African-American male, was dressed but said that his car had been stolen. The car was later recovered near defendant's apartment. A Circle K representative estimated that $14.09 was missing from the cash register. Later that day, Rodrigo Pelayo and Carlos Chacon each identified defendant as the perpetrator of the robbery and murder. They also identified defendant in court. Canellas's description of the perpetrator on the night of the shooting was consistent with defendant's appearance that night.