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Sikh woman 61 years old,
Sacramento Store owner is brutally killed
Sacramento, June 03, 2004 A brutal stabbing during a robbery of a south Sacramento
liquor store Wednesday morning left a 61-year-old woman dead, authorities
said. They were looking for the man responsible for the death of store owner Kulwant Sufi of Elk Grove, said Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman R.L. Davis. Sometime after 8 a.m. Sufi staggered out of the DK Discount Liquor store at 8484 Florin Road. When deputies arrived at about 8:25 a.m., they found her lying on the ground in front of the door. She had several stab wounds to her upper body.Sufi was transported to UC Davis Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. About an hour later, storeowners and workers in the Florin Road strip mall gathered in the parking lot staring in disbelief as deputies taped off the crime scene. Bhupinder and Manpreet Sandhu own the Subway shop next to the liquor store. "For $20 or $30 he killed her," Bhupinder Sandhu said. "He didn't care who she was." Witnesses reported seeing the man flee the store and head east on Florin Road carrying a cash register covered with a blanket. Manpreet Sandhu said Sufi and her husband, Chanan Sufi, 63, worked tirelessly to give their family a better life. One son is a doctor; another is about to finish college. The two couples spoke almost daily. They shared a common heritage, Bhupinder Sandhu said. Both couples emigrated from India and shared the same Sikh religion. They called Sufi "Auntie." "She was a very nice lady," he said. "We always talked about how this complex was no good." Since the Sandhus bought the Subway in February 2003, the store has been robbed five times, he said. The Sandhus' security company called at 8:30 a.m. to report that the alarm was sounding. Within about an hour Sufi's husband arrived at the store. He was ushered into a nearby restaurant. Jeanette Jordan arrived minutes later. She stopped by the liquor store every day to visit her friend. They talked about their children and lottery tickets. "She's such a sweet lady," Jordan said. "Why would someone do that to her?" The suspect in Wednesday's homicide is described as about 5-feet-10, 200 to 220 pounds, with a medium tan complexion. He is bald on top and has 3-to 4-inch-long black curly hair that dangles around the sides and back of his head. He was wearing a blue T-shirt with a gray button-down shirt over it, light pants, a brown belt and a silver watch. Investigators also believe the suspect is right-handed, Davis said. It's the second time in less than a year that store owners have been killed during a robbery of a south Sacramento store. The double homicide of a Vietnamese couple in July remains unsolved. Business owners should use extreme caution when handling money and closing or opening their business, Davis said. They also need to make sure they have excellent security equipment, including surveillance cameras, he said. He also suggested store owners take advantage of the Sheriff's Department's crime prevention specialist who evaluates the security of a store and what needs to be improved. The service is free, Davis said. |
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