MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KWTX) – The McLennan County Sheriff’s Office arrested two men who admitted to robbing two rest stops and shooting an employee who later died, according to affidavits in the criminal complaint.
Investigators said 30-year-old store employee Dipak Oli was shot by Christopher Matthew Beltran, 22. Beltran and a second suspect, identified as Micha Harris, 25, are both charged with felony robbery and aggravated robbery, documents show.
On July 28, officers were dispatched to the Waco Truck Stop in the 1000 block of Enterprise Blvd. in Hewitt for a report of a robbery, the document states.
At the stop, officers encountered an employee who told them that two men came in and asked for his help, whereupon they pulled their firearms from under their clothing and demanded money, the document states.
Authorities obtained surveillance footage in which the first suspect was wearing a hoodie with the words “NBA”, black pants, Nike slippers, white socks and a blue face mask, the document said.
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According to the affidavit, the second suspect was wearing a gray hoodie with the word “Nike” on it, gray pants, black tennis shoes and a black face mask.
Surveillance camera footage shows the clerk opening the cash register as the suspects begin to take money from it, the document states. According to the affidavit, one of the suspects grabbed the cash register and both men ran out of the building.
The affidavit states that one of the suspects punched the employee in the face as they ran past the store clerk.
Later that day, investigators became aware of a murder that had occurred in Elm Mott, the document says.
On July 28 at around 6:20 p.m., officers were dispatched to Gator Stop No. 3 at I-35 and Ross Rd. north of Elm Mott to conduct a welfare check, the document states.
The caller told police he entered the rest area but could not find the employee, the affidavit states.
When officers arrived, they found the employee, later identified as Oli, dead outside the building, the document said.
During the investigation, surveillance video showed two people with guns entering the store and attempting to commit a robbery, the document said.
The employee tried to run toward the black door but was shot by the suspect, who was wearing a blue mask, the affidavit states.
Police identified Beltran as a suspect after matching his license plate to a car identified by a license plate reader on I-35. Authorities also said Beltran’s mug shot from previous crimes matched the description and appearance of the shooter, the document said.
On Aug. 22, police executed a search warrant and found a blue mask that matched the mask worn by the shooter, the document says.
According to the document, Beltran and Harris were both interviewed and confessed to shooting the clerk at Gator Stop No. 3 and robbing the Waco truck stop.
Detectives compared surveillance footage from the Gator Stop murder and the Waco Truck Stop robbery and “determined that the suspects were the same.”
Beltran and Harris are both being held without bail in the McLennan County Jail on charges of aggravated robbery and capital crimes.
McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara speaks about the arrest of felony suspects.
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