Bala Gopal Paruchuri, a 40-year-old Indian man, was a father of two and the owner of the Sunhouse convenience store in Longs, South Carolina. On the night of January 2, 2015, his life was cut short in a violent armed robbery at his place of business. Paruchuri was working in his store when he was shot multiple times by masked assailants. A witness who was in the store's bathroom at the time emerged to see three men robbing Paruchuri.
The witness reported hearing one of the robbers demand that Paruchuri 'give it up' before shots were fired. Officers responding to the scene found Paruchuri deceased inside the store, with several shell casings recovered as evidence.
The investigation into the murder of Bala Gopal Paruchuri led authorities to three suspects: Jerome Jenkins, McKinley Daniels, and James Daniels. These individuals were connected to a string of violent crimes in the area, including another fatal convenience store robbery that occurred later in the same month. Evidence discovered during a search of a person of interest's home in the nearby town of Loris linked the three men to the crimes. They were subsequently arrested and faced multiple charges, including murder and armed robbery, in connection with Paruchuri's death.
The legal proceedings that followed brought a measure of justice for the killing of Bala Gopal Paruchuri. Jerome Jenkins was convicted of murder and armed robbery and was sentenced to death for his role in the crime. James Daniels also faced a murder and armed robbery conviction, resulting in a life sentence in prison. The third suspect, McKinley Daniels, entered a guilty plea to charges of murder and armed robbery and was sentenced to a term of at least 45 years in prison. The trials revealed that the assailants had already taken the money during the robberies but still chose to kill their victims.
