Devonere Simmonds shot dead Imran Ashgar within seconds of entering his store

See No Evil looks at the tragic case of storekeeper Imran Ashgar who was gunned down in Columbus, Ohio, in July 2013.

Ashgar was working in the Convenient Plus Food Mart when Devonere Simmonds walked into the store and within seconds had shot him in the face at point-blank range.

The murder was part of a violent crime spree conducted by Simmonds and his accomplice Nathaniel Brunner. Three days later, the pair also shot and wounded Joe Rudd as they stole his car at a truck stop in Madison County.

Rudd would later become instrumental in putting the two thugs behind bars as he was the prosecution’s chief witness.

Shortly after they stole Rudd’s car, the police found Simmonds and Brunner asleep in the stolen car in Dayton.

Investigators later discovered that surveillance footage from the convenience store was key to solving Ashgar’s murder and firmly put Simmonds as the triggerman.

Simmonds and Brunner were found guilty

In December 2014, both Simmonds and Brunner were convicted by a jury who found them guilty of aggravated murder, attempted murder, felonious assault, and aggravated robbery.

Judge Tim Horton sentenced Brunner to life with the possibility of parole in 78 years. The triggerman Simmonds was given life in prison with an additional 45 years; he was not given the possibility of parole.

Judge Horton acknowledged the teenagers had had a difficult upbringing but declared that “all of us have the ability to distinguish between what’s right and what’s wrong.”

The convenience store robbery had two other accomplices; Darrell Durham admitted his role in the crime and agreed to testify against Simmonds and Brunner. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and aggravated murder and was sentenced to 15 years.

A fourth accomplice, Lamont Frazier, was allegedly shot dead by Simmonds a few days after the robbery. Simmonds was initially charged with this murder, but the police subsequently dropped the case due to a lack of evidence.

More from See No Evil

Follow the links to read about more crimes profiled on See No Evil.

Bill Kenny’s life had been spiraling out of control ever since his wife divorced him. He took his anger out at on Deputy Clint Greenwood, who he wrongly perceived as conducting a campaign against him. One day Kenny shot Greenwood dead outside the Baytown Courthouse in Houston, Texas.

Cory L. King murdered 26-year-old Louise Dickey will in a drug-fueled craze in Missouri in 2006. He slit her throat with a box cutter before carrying her upstairs to her bathroom, where he stabbed her repeatedly with a fixed-blade knife.

See No Evil airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.