The store's owner was shot to death on April 7th. Now, we have an exclusive inside look at what detectives believe confirms that they arrested the right man.
Maninder Kaila is charged with murder, but there could be more charges to come. His arrest shocked many customers at the Star Mart in Kingsburg, but it might not have shocked anyone in the village where he grew up.
In court documents, detectives reveal information from another native of that town of about 1,000 people. He told police Maninder's real name was Sukhminder Singh, but he changed his identity when he came to the U.S. Why? Because he committed murder, robbery and other crimes in India, according to the victim's brother-in-law.
Kaila didn't admit anything was wrong during an exclusive exchange with Action News AM Live anchor Margot Kim on the morning of the murder. He claimed he had no idea why police were arresting him.
"Why are you being arrested?" she asked.
"I don't know," said Kaila.
"Where were you this morning?" she asked.
"At home," he claimed.
At his home is where Fresno County sheriff's detectives say they found the shotgun Kaila used to kill his boss, as well as shells and casings that matched those found at the murder scene. After that discovery, detectives say Kaila confessed. But that wasn't the end of the trouble for Kaila.
"In the days that followed the initial murder investigation, we did become involved in a theft report from the same location of approximately $18,000," said Kingsburg Police Chief Jeff Dunn.
Court documents show a paper trail leading to Kaila's daughter's account at the Fowler Bank of America. On the day after the murder, her bank account had $9.94. Within three weeks, it was at $18,790.19. We tried to reach Parminder Kaila, but she didn't answer her door.
Maninder Kaila worked at the Kingsburg store, off and on, for about ten years before his arrest. He's due back in court on June 8.
