![]() ![]() ![]() Businesses were back to normal after a shooting that took place at the Valero gas station on MacArthur Boulevard and Seminary Avenue on Monday, Jan. The people working the front counter at Charlie’s were also unavailable for comment. The counter inside the Valero is protected by bulletproof glass, as it is at Charlie’s Las Palmas burrito shop, located across the street on MacArthur Boulevard. The men working inside the Valero gas station on Tuesday also declined to be interviewed. Neither of the businesses offered comment for this story. Parker eventually sold the business to one of her employees, and the shop has remained in the hands of the same Asian-American family since. The latter, a favorite lunchtime spot for people in the area, originally belonged to Estelle Parker, a Philadelphia native, and Lynn Worthington, the former owner and broker of Better Homes Realty. Two of the longest-running businesses within the same commercial complex are Better Homes Realty, which opened its doors in 1976, and Mill’s Hoagie and Deli Shop, which opened in 1981. The ice cream shop was closed at the time when The Oaklandside visited the area. Vannery said the ice cream shop was open at the time. Vannery’s brother owns Loard’s Ice Cream, located behind the Valero gas station in the same complex where the shooting occurred. Credit: Azucena Rasilla Long-time businesses, with some changing hands between neighbors The storefronts along MacArthur Boulevard and Seminary Avenue were struck by gunfire after a drive-shooting on New Years Day. “Even women keeping their gun in their purses.” “I have seen customers come in carrying guns,” Vannery said. But once businesses in the area began to reopen, violence once more began to escalate. She said that during the worst months of the pandemic, the neighborhood was quiet. “I told him to get whatever he wanted but not to harm me.” “Last time, the guy had a gun,” she said. Vannery said she’s been robbed at gunpoint three times over the years she’s been in business here and that she keeps the shop open only between 10 a.m. “It’s the same ol’, same ol’.” Today, only a handful of customers walked in during what she said is usually a busy lunch hour for her business. “Nothing has changed,” Vannary said of the neighborhood’s reputation. ![]() She said that a police officer stopped by the next day and gave her their card in case she heard anything about the shooting. The gunshots pierced many of the storefronts, including her deli. In the early hours of New Year’s Eve, she said, there was a drive-by shooting along MacArthur Boulevard and Seminary Avenue. Vannery told The Oaklandside that shootings aren’t a rare occurrence in the neighborhood. The small eatery was already closed when the shooting happened on Monday just before 6 p.m. The shop’s owner, Vannery, who did not want to share her last name, has owned the business for over 22 years. He is being held without bond with another court appearance scheduled for next Tuesday.A sandwich shop, MacArthur Deli, sits on the other side of MacArthur Boulevard, directly across the street from the Valero station. (credit: Arapahoe County)īirch faces several charges including first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a weapon by a previous offender, carrying a concealed weapon and theft. In that robbery, deputies said the suspect was carrying a similar revolver and fired a shot into the ceiling after taking money from the store's cash register drawer. Investigators said the crime appears to be related to an earlier robbery on Thanksgiving at a Conoco gas station at East Arapahoe Road and South Galena Street. The clerk, identified as 24-year-old Mauricio Omar Perez, died at the hospital while in surgery. When the clerk handed over $226.96 and 10 packs of cigarettes in a plastic bag, the suspect shot him in the stomach. I can shoot you when I leave or I can shoot you now," the suspect said to the clerk, according to court documents. Dude, it's going to be you, your stomach or the money. "I need everything in the register too, though. As the clerk rang up the order, Birch is accused of pulling out a revolver and demanding cash from the register. Investigators say Birch walked into the Valero Gas station at South Quebec Street and East County Line Road and asked for a carton of cigarettes. Samuel Birch (credit: Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office) The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office arrested the 31-year-old on Friday following numerous tips from the public. (CBS4) - Samuel Birch appeared before a judge on Wednesday, charged with murder and robbery in the fatal shooting of a Centennial gas station clerk on Thanksgiving. ![]()
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