Man arrested in theft of beer after 7-Eleven clerk slain

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003 | 9:38 a.m.

Police have arrested a man who allegedly stole beer from a 7-Eleven seconds after the store clerk was shot to death Tuesday.

Investigators are trying to determine if the man was involved in the homicide.

Lee Gammage, 48, was arrested for burglary. He lives near the convenience store, which is located at 3533 N. Pecos Road.

The security video from the store shows a man identified by police as Gammage entering the store shortly after the 28-year-old clerk was shot in front of the store. The man can be seen on the video trying to open the cash register, then he runs to a cooler and takes six to eight 40-ounce bottles of beer.

To get in and out of the story the thief had to step right past the clerk who lay dying in the parking lot, Officer Justin Roberts, spokesman for the department, said.

"The extent of his involvement in the homicide is unknown," Roberts said, adding that at the very least Gammage probably saw the shooting.

The shooting occurred about 2:20 a.m. Tuesday. The victim was outside cleaning the sidewalk when a man with a semiautomatic handgun approached him. The gunman said something to the clerk about the tattoos on his forearm -- tattoos of the names of the clerk's children -- then the gunman shot the clerk, police said.

He left the scene in a car, which was found several hours later.

Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the North Las Police Detective Bureau at 633-1773 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.