A Merrillville, Ind., man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the shooting death of a convenience store clerk over the weekend.
Jeremy Kale Blue, of the 5600 block of Johnson Street, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of robbery.
Blue is accused of walking into the Lucky Mart Foods, at 5695 Cleveland St., around 1 p.m. Sunday and shooting 48-year-old Judi Simpson-Beaver as she worked alone. Blue got away with cash, police said.
The store is just blocks away from Blue's home. Police said they obtained a warrant and arrested him at about 1 p.m. Tuesday. They said he surrendered peacefully.
"We feel good about this," Simpson-Beaver's son, Zach Beaver, said of the arrest. "We're glad progress has been made and that police have been working so hard on this."
Authorities said Blue was arrested after two eyewitnesses gave information to police. One person picked Blue out of a lineup, they said. Two other black males are being sought.
Surveillance video of the robbery shows a man, allegedly Blue, in a dark hoodie and black pants enter the store with a gun. In the bottom right corner of the video, police said he's flashing the gun and demanding money from Simpson-Beaver.
"The clerk complied, handed over the money," said Chief of Detectives, Jim Lillie.
The gunman walks around, behind the counter and seconds later is seen coming back into the frame carrying the cash. But instead of just leaving, police say he puts the cash down, turns back toward the counter and shoots Simpson-Beaver in the chest.
Police said even after shooting her once, he walked back around the counter to shoot her one last time from even closer range, this time in the head.
Her son, Zach Beaver, said authorities continue to search for two men linked to this crime.
"It is good that they got that one guy, but there are two other people out there, and we're focused now on catching them."
