In the summer of 1985, a violent robbery in Hampton, Virginia, cut short the life of Mohammad Afifi, a 42-year-old male store clerk. On the evening of June 27th, a man named Herman Charles Barnes, then 29, attempted to rob Bon's Supermarket. The situation quickly escalated into a deadly confrontation.
The 72-year-old owner of the store, Clyde Jenkins, was shot and killed by Barnes. In a moment of bravery, Mohammad Afifi ran from the back of the store to help Jenkins.
Afifi confronted Barnes and was also fatally shot. Barnes then fled the scene of the double homicide.
An investigation led to the arrest of Herman Charles Barnes. He was subsequently tried and convicted of capital murder for the deaths of both Clyde Jenkins and Mohammad Afifi. In September 1986, Barnes was sentenced to death for his crimes. After years of appeals, Herman Charles Barnes was executed by lethal injection on November 13, 1995.
