By Khalida Sarwari and Melissa McRobbie
Police are investigating a robbery at a Watsonville market on Tuesday that ended with the murder of a 32-year-old man.
A man wearing a baggy black T-shirt walked into the Fiesta Latino Market at 451 E. Beach St. shortly after 1 p.m., engaged the clerk in conversation, then left.
A few minutes later, he came back, pulled out a handgun and demanded money from the clerk, according to police.
The clerk complied and gave the man cash. After taking the money, the suspect shot the clerk point-blank in the chest then fled, police said.
The victim, identified as Yahya Saleh Ali Ahmed, died at the scene.
Police Lt. Darren Thompson said it’s not clear why the gunman shot Ahmed after he handed over the money.
“We have pretty good surveillance video, we’re working on the audible part, but there doesn’t appear to be anything that would have provoked the shooting,” Thompson said.
The gunman was described as a white man in his early 20s, standing 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing between 160 and 170 pounds. He had short blond hair and was wearing baggy, dark-colored jeans.
A witness saw a car leaving the scene similar to a dark green Infiniti J30, police said.
Thompson said a man matching the suspect’s description was captured on video shoplifting from a 98 Cents store at 1815 Freedom Blvd. on Monday.
Investigators are looking into whether the crimes are related.
Thompson said that on Sunday, two men visited the 98 Cents store and appeared to be “casing” the business.
“They don’t buy anything, they’re in there for a while,” he said.
On Monday, one of the men returned and stole “a bunch of clothes,” Thompson said.
Employees tried to stop him, and one, a woman, was knocked down, he said. The man then jumped into a green Infiniti and fled.
The robbery and murder at the Fiesta Latino Market happened the next day.
“One of our staff members recalled the event the previous day, so we began comparing the surveillance video of the three incidents,” Thompson said.
Thompson said investigators “strongly suspect” the suspect is the same person in all three cases.
Now police are hoping the public can point them in the right direction.
“We just need someone to tell us who this is,” Thompson said.
He urged anyone who knows the suspect’s whereabouts to call 911. Those with other information on the crimes are asked to call police investigations at (831) 768-3350 or the crime tip line at (831) 728-3544.