Student fatally shot in robbery

A faulty drawer during a gas station robbery led to the death of a North Lake student.

Shekhar Regmi, 20, was working at the Fina gas station in Arlington on Dec. 20 when two masked men entered the store at 10:45 p.m.

Darry Wayne Quinones, 17, who was charged with capital murder, told police the men were there to steal a plasma television and "Christmas money" from the register. Police believe no money was missing from the drawer because the drawer malfunctioned.

Also, police said the television was on the floor. In a later statement from one of the suspects, police learned the television was dropped as they fled the scene.

Investigators are not sure who fired the fatal shot. They have charged Jared Birmingham, 21, in connection with the case, based on the security video taken inside the store.

Regmi, a Nepalese immigrant, studied to become a doctor after graduating from the National Institute of Science and Technology with a higher secondary degree, before coming to America to study for an engineering degree.

Birmingham, who has a previous arrest record for possession of marijuana and evading arrest, was arrested in his Arlington apartment around noon on Dec. 23, where police say he limped from his second-floor apartment to the waiting police car. Police believe he was injured during the robbery, when they believe he shot himself in the toe; police are still determining how the injury occurred. According to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Quinones turned himself in to police around 3 p.m. the day of Birmingham's arrest.

Julius Perales, 17, who according to Arlington police went into the gas station with Birmingham, was arrested in Arlington shortly after Birmingham and Perales. All three men are awaiting trial for capital murder. According to The Dallas Morning News, Birmingham's bail is set at $250,000, Perales' at $175,000, and Quinones' at $100,000.

A fund-raiser is being held to help Regmi's parents with the cost of the funeral and the debt from Regmi's American education. Contributions can be made by visiting www.nepalesesociety.org (click on "Shekhar's Fund-raiser").