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Three Kenyans in US arrested over brutal murder at petrol station


Three Kenyans living in the United States are among five suspects charged in connection with the shooting of a 25-year-old father of three in Cobb County, Georgia two weeks ago.

Daniel Perez, 25, was in the passenger seat of a pick-up truck on March 23 when two men approached the truck and one shot him in the head, according to local police.

On Sunday, police arrested 20-year-old Devin Thomas and 18-year-old Maria Mungai.  Another suspect Charlton Kariuki had been arrested earlier.

Police have also arrested an unidentified 15-year-old.

MURDER WEAPON

According to the arrest warrants, Kariuki is accused of buying the murder weapon, a .38-caliber handgun and then selling it to the shooting suspect, a 15-year-old who was not named for being a juvenile.

Kariuki also allegedly drove the other suspects to the scene of the crime.

Maria is charged with helping the suspects escape and hide after the shooting.

After the shooting, Perez was rushed to the WellStar Kennestone Hospital, where he was declared brain dead.

“It’s just sad because he was just taking his brother to a job interview literally that morning,” his sister-in-law, Lucia Gonzalez, told a local news channel.

Perez had recently purchased the truck to start his landscaping business.

LIFE SUPPORT

He was taken off life support and died on March 27, Acworth police confirmed.

His family added that the week before his shooting they were at Perez’s 1-year-old son’s baptism. He has two other children, the oldest a 4-year-old girl.

Why someone would shoot Perez is a mystery to his family.

“They’re cowards for doing this, especially the way they did it.”

The suspects are being held without bail, according to Cobb county jail records.