Dallas

Suspects in Murder of Garland Store Clerk Face Other Robbery Charges

A day after taking a pair of cousins into custody for the murder of a Garland store clerk, police say the suspects may be behind at least four other robberies in Garland and additional crimes in another city.

Saturday night, two men held up 35-year-old Manish Panday at the Exxon gas station on Broadway Boulevard and East Oates Road. There was a struggle for the gun, and Panday was killed.

Police published surveillance video, and in court records, police say a relative of the two men and other witnesses came forward with information that led to their arrests.

On Tuesday, police arrested 19-year-old Chavez Nash at John Leslie Patton Jr. Academic Center in Dallas. Law enforcement picked up 23-year-old Darrell Dewayne Nash at his apartment complex in Dallas the same evening.

Victims in other robberies tell NBC 5 they recognized the men in the Exxon surveillance video.

"I recognized them," said a clerk who asked NBC 5 not to share her name. "They were carrying the same gun and the same Spider-Man backpack."

That clerk was robbed Thursday at another convenience store in Garland. She says the men threatened her with guns, grabbed her by the hair and forced her to the ground. They didn't physically hurt her, she says. A few days later, she learned about Panish's murder and suspected there was a connection.

"The same thing is going on in my head again and again," she said. "What if they had killed me?"

At another Garland convenience store, another clerk was held up late Friday night. He also did not want his name or identity published out of fear for his safety. He said the gunmen came into his store just before closing. They demanded cash from the register, but were angry there wasn't more.

"They were saying, 'Where's the rest of the money?' And, I was afraid," said the clerk.

He said one robber had a gun to his chest while the second man encouraged him to shoot.

"He was saying, 'Just shoot him, shoot him, just finish him,'" recalled the clerk.

The men did not shoot, but 24 hours later, police say they did kill Panday.

Surveillance video from the Exxon shows Panday initially complying with the robbers' demands, but then fights.

The clerk who was robbed the night before wonders if Panday felt he had to fight back in self-defense.

In an arrest warrant affidavit, detectives write that Panday was on his back, fighting for the gun with Darrell Nash when Chavez Nash pulled one of Panday's arms back so Darrell Nash could shoot Panday. After killing Panday, police said both men ran, but one was limping.

Police say Darrell Nash shot himself in the left knee in the struggle with Panday. Detectives say Nash sought treatment at a hospital and told Dallas police he was shot in a drive-by shooting.

Both men face capital murder charges for the death of Panday. Garland police believe the men are behind four other robberies. Police in Balch Springs want to question the pair about three unsolved robberies in their jurisdiction.

Garland police add there may be a third person of interest, but don't have enough information to share a description with the public yet.

The news of the arrests came as a relief to friends of Panday. Friends planned a vigil for Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the Exxon where he worked. Friends say Panday's parents were able to obtain permission to travel from their native Nepal to Texas for a funeral this weekend.

There had been a $10,000 reward for information leading police to an arrest. Garland police say Jerry Reynolds, host of the Car Pro Show on WBAP Radio, donated $5,000 to increase the reward.

Friends of Panday have started a GoFundMe account to help support Panday's widow, who is five months pregnant with their first child.

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