The convenient store employee fighting for his life after being hit with a shotgun blast during a holdup has died from his injuries, Washington Parish Sheriff's officials said.
That means the charges for the three robbers who fled the scene on Friday (Dec. 29) and were detained in Alabama after a multi-state police hunt are now upgraded to first degree murder and armed robbery.
Abdulraham Alaquir Taleb, 53, was a resident of Bogalusa who was working at the JZ Quick Shop on Highway 21 outside city limits when he was shot at point blank range. He died in University Medical Center a day later from his wounds.
On Friday (Jan. 4), Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives traveled to Montgomery, AL, to extradite the three suspects in the killing. Lance Rouse, 24, of Picayune, Mississippi, Levi Lee, 17, of Carriere, Mississippi and Melissa Smith, 29, of Tylertown, Mississippi were transported back to Louisiana to stand trial.
Rouse, Lee and Smith became fugitives after the robbery and led police on a more than 24-hour hunt from Louisiana through Mississippi to Alabama, where law enforcement officers had to use road spikes to stop their fleeing vehicle before detaining the trio.
They now face a bond hearing early next week and will be held in the Washington Parish Jail until then.
Due to the very serious nature of the charges, it is anticipated the three will receive high bond amounts and will remain in the jail until trial, Washington Parish Sheriff's officials said.
Chilling videos from the incident show the suspects pulling into the convenience store and one threatening Taleb with a shotgun before shooting him.
The suspects then walked past the employee, went in the business and took cash and merchandise from the business and drove away, the videos show.