Killing Of Beloved Benicia Store Clerk During Robbery Leaves Community In Shock
BENICIA (KPIX 5) – A beloved Benicia liquor store owner is being remembered as the police in the Solano County community investigating its second homicide of the year.
Police believe the clerk at the Rose Market was shot and killed during a robbery late Tuesday.
The Market is closed but many people stopped by to dropping off flowers, cards and candy on Wednesday. Many still in shock about what happened here to the owner of this market.
"He was always so friendly, a good guy. He worked all the time," said Angela Loza, a customer who has been coming to Rose Market for years.
Loza stopped by to drop off a potted plant to remember her friend.
"Just let his family know that he's more than the guy at the liquor store. He had an effect on people that came in here," she told KPIX 5.
Police said the incident happened around 10 p.m. Tuesday night. Officers responded to an alarm call. When they arrived, they found the store owner suffering from a gunshot wound.
Surveillance footage from next door at Napoli Restaurant was provided to investigators. The community is doing whatever it can to help police catch the killer.
"He worked hard to support his family, his store. They bought the center and for someone to come in and take his life like that is very upsetting," restaurant owner Chris Guerrera told KPIX 5.
The murder has rattled the nerves of many in this small tight knit community that rarely sees this kind of violent crime. Before this year, Benicia's last murder was in 2011.
"It's just sad what the world is coming to because he was such a good guy and he didn't deserve it," Loza said.
Guerrera added, "When I finally left here at 12:30/1 o' clock in the morning last night, I was thinking, 'I'm going home to my family and he's not.'"
