LITTLE ROCK — Detectives are investigating whether one of the men involved in the fatal shooting of a North Little Rock convenience store clerk on Saturday night also robbed a Jacksonville gas station hours later, police said.
North Little Rock police Sgt. Brian Dedrick said Sunday that the woman who was killed was Akiya Egeston, 29, of Little Rock.
Egeston was working at the E-Z Mart Store at 3600 MacArthur Drive about 9:15 p.m. Saturday when three masked men, at least one of whom was armed with a handgun, attempted to rob the business, Dedrick said.
From security footage, it appears the men left without taking any money.
One of the men then went back inside the store and shot Egeston.
Egeston was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dedrick said it appears the men had not been able to get into the cash register.
“We’re not sure whether she didn’t open it or couldn’t get it open,” Dedrick said. In the security footage, “it appears they are trying to open it or tell her to open it.”
At 2:10 a.m. Sunday, a masked man armed with a handgun went in the Citgo gas station at 120 Marshall Road in Jacksonville, Jacksonville police Capt. Kenny Boyd said.
The man took an undisclosed amount of money from the register.
He also demanded cartons of cigarettes and money from the safe, but the clerk did not have access to either one, Boyd said.
The man threatened to shoot the clerk, but she escaped and ran away unharmed, Boyd said. The robber then fled on foot.
Security footage shows the man wearing a camouflage shirt or jacket, a stocking cap and a red bandana around his neck.
Boyd said the robber appeared to be a “really light skinned” black man.
In the North Little Rock shooting, security footage shows one of the men dressed in the same type of clothing, but North Little Rock police described him as white.
One of the other men from the shooting was black and wore a gray coat.
The race of the third man, who wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and can be seen in an image from security footage released by police holding a handgun, is unclear, Dedrick said.
E-Z Mart is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the three men involved in the killing, Dedrick said.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 09/24/2012