On a cool November evening in Blytheville, Arkansas, the lives of two families were irrevocably changed. Inside the Cherrytree Food Mart, a neighborhood convenience store, 56-year-old Anthony Keith Tramble was working as a maintenance man. Known for his friendly and hardworking nature, the married father was a familiar and welcome presence to those who frequented the establishment.
On this particular night, November 5, 2016, his life, along with that of the store's owner, 62-year-old Bahadur 'Bob' Dhillon, was tragically cut short.
Three masked individuals, their intentions set on robbery, stormed into the mart. Earlier that evening, their attempt to rob another local convenience store had been thwarted by locked doors. Undeterred, they targeted the Cherrytree Food Mart. During the commission of the robbery, both Dhillon and Tramble were fatally shot. Dhillon was found near the counter, while Tramble was discovered near the rear of the store. The assailants fled with a small amount of cash and some cigarettes, leaving behind a scene of violence that would deeply wound the community.
In the days that followed the brutal double homicide, the Blytheville Police Department launched an intensive investigation that quickly led to the apprehension of three suspects. The individuals taken into custody were 25-year-old Issac Branch, 18-year-old Chris Clay Jr., and a 16-year-old juvenile. All three faced charges of capital murder and robbery or attempted robbery. Subsequent court proceedings brought some measure of justice for the victims and their grieving families. One of the defendants, Avante Lawshea, was found guilty by a jury in March 2018 of two counts of capital murder and one count of aggravated robbery. The then 17-year-old was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders, with an additional ten years for the robbery and another ten years for committing a homicide in the presence of a child. The tragic deaths of Anthony Tramble and Bahadur Dhillon left a lasting scar on the Blytheville community, prompting vigils and memorials in their honor.
