In the early morning hours of January 20, 2016, a quiet 7-Eleven in Hammond, Indiana, became the scene of a senseless tragedy. Roger Unton, a 60-year-old male store clerk, was diligently working his shift when a man entered the convenience store at 6031 Hohman Avenue with the intent to rob it. The assailant, armed with a handgun, demanded money from Unton.
The situation escalated tragically when Unton pressed the store's panic button, enraging the robber who then shot and killed him.
The brazen crime was captured on the store's surveillance cameras, providing investigators with clear, albeit disguised, images of the suspect who was wearing a mask and a wig. Hammond Police Chief John Doughty described the perpetrator as an 'animalistic predator who clearly has no value for human life.' In the wake of the murder, 7-Eleven offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Unton was remembered by customers as a well-liked and quiet man, a gentleman who kept to himself. His niece, Rebecca Van Auken, made a public plea for information, urging that it 'shouldn't be about the reward money. It should be about the family that has to suffer without him.'
A combination of surveillance footage, tips from the public, and forensic evidence led authorities to identify the suspect as 27-year-old Eric Dillon of Gary, Indiana. In March 2016, Dillon was federally indicted on three counts: murder, a federal robbery charge, and brandishing or discharging a firearm. Federal authorities took jurisdiction in the case under the Hobbs Act, which applies to robberies against entities engaged in interstate commerce. On August 15, 2017, Eric M. Dillon was sentenced for the armed robbery and use of a firearm to cause death. He received a total sentence of 510 months in prison, consisting of consecutive sentences of 240 months for the armed robbery and 270 months for using a firearm to cause Roger Unton's death.
