Davonta Mathis, top inset, faces two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Muhammad Hussain, not pictured, and Gopi Krishna Dasari, bottom inset. (Crime scene screenshot from KDFW/YouTube; Mug shot from Dallas County Jail; Victim’s photo from GoFundMe)
A Texas man allegedly admitted to killing two gas station clerks in separate shootings over 24 hours in the Dallas area for lottery tickets for a new apartment, according to an arrest affidavit.
Davonta Mathis, 21, faces two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Muhammad Hussain, 60, and Gopi Krishna Dasari, 32, authorities said.
Mathis is accused of fatally shooting Hussain on Thursday around 11 p.m. at Jaxx Fuel in Mesquite, the Mesquite Police Department said in a news release.
Citing an affidavit, CBS Dallas affiliate WFAA reported the suspect, in a hoodie and bandanna, walked to the register, shot Hussain, and grabbed lottery tickets before taking off.
Police found Hussain suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He died at a hospital. Police said surveillance video from the store captured detailed information about the shooter’s vehicle.
About 25 hours later, on June 22 at 12:30 a.m., Mathis is accused of fatally shooting Dasari at Fox Gas Station in Dallas. Mathis allegedly entered the store, approached the counter and shot Dasari, Dallas police said in a news release.
A terrified witness called 911, NBC’s Dallas Fort Worth affiliate KXAS reported.
“I heard the gunshots, and I froze for a second because I didn’t know what was happening,” the witness said, the station reported.
Within 50 minutes after Dasari was killed, a Mesquite officer on routine patrol spotted the vehicle that fit the description of the one seen in surveillance video at the scene of Hussain’s killing and arrested Mathis after a pursuit, authorities said.
Mesquite Police Sgt. Curtis Phillip told FOX’s Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate KDFW they were gruesome crimes.
“It was pretty heinous in the sense that neither clerk appears to have been even given the opportunity to comply,” he said, the network reported.
Mathis allegedly admitted to the killings, saying he shot Hussain “because he did not want him to run out and call the police” and shot Dasari “because they did not have lottery tickets,” according to the affidavit, The Waco Tribune-Herald reported.
He allegedly told police that he stole a truck used in the crimes and bought a pistol “from a man off the street … for $400 … He was hoping that the lottery ticket winnings would give him enough money to get an apartment,” KDFW reported, citing the affidavit.
Surveillance video allegedly captured him trying to cash out his stolen lottery tickets at a store near his home in Waco, KDFW reported.
Mathis is being held in the Dallas County Jail with bond set at $12.5 million, online booking records show.
Mourners, meanwhile, remembered Dasani, who recently came to the United States on a work visa. He leaves behind a wife and a 1-year-old child in India, a GoFundMe page set up by his cousin said.
“As a close-knit family, we are devastated by this shocking event and are doing everything we can to support his family,” the page said. “Gopi’s passing has left an immeasurable void in the lives of his family and friends.”
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