Conway woman killed in second deadly convenience store robbery this month

Within a month two store clerks working for Sunhouse convenience stores in the Conway area have been shot and killed during a string of armed robberies.

Area police have been working overtime responding to dozens of armed robberies at Dollar General stores, convenience stores and restaurants since October when the incidents began to increase.

Police say they continue to investigate every angle of the robberies to determine if they are connected and to identify suspects in each incident.

Late Sunday, Trisha Dawn Stull, 30, of Conway was pronounced dead inside Sunhouse convenience store at 2697 Oak St., from two gunshot wounds, Horry County Deputy Coroner Tony Hendrick said.

Stull had worked at the store, which is at the corner of Oak Street and Cultra Road in the Conway area, for a few weeks, said Gaylon Mullis, a spokesman for The Sunhouse stores. Mullis did not personally know Stull, but said she is survived by two children.

“It’s a sad thing that we have people who don’t have any consideration for anybody else’s life or their family,” Mullis said.

On Jan. 2, Bala Gopal Paruchuri, 40, was shot and killed inside The Sunhouse store at 7406 S.C. 905. The case remains under investigation and a $10,000 reward has been offered for information about the robbery and Paruchuri’s death.

“Bala done everything the robbers wanted. He had his hands up and gave them everything they wanted,” Mullis said. “That’s cold blooded murder in my eyes.”

On Sunday, Stull did hit the store’s panic button to silently alert police something was wrong inside the business, but Mullis said it took officers eight minutes to get there. The robbers had fled the area before officers arrived.

Officers were dispatched to the store at 10:16 p.m. Sunday and arrived at 10:21 p.m., according to the Horry County police report. The report showed the robbery and fatal shooting occurred between 10:09 to 10:13 p.m.

Horry County police want to talk to any customers who were in the store between 9 and 10 p.m. Sunday, Lt. Raul Denis said. Anyone with information about the robbery and Stull’s death can call 248-1520 or provide information on the Tip Line at 915-8477.

About an hour before Stull’s death, Horry County police were called to a Scotchman convenience store on Lake Arrowhead Road for an armed robbery, Denis said.

Police said Monday that the robbery at the Scotchman and the robbery and Stull’s death at the Sunhouse store were connected and involved the same suspects, Denis said. Officers also released a photo from the video surveillance in the store of the men and ask anyone who can identify them to call police.

In the Scotchman store robbery, two men went into the business at 9 p.m. Sunday, pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money, Denis said. The men wore hooded sweatshirts, and one had a dark cloth mask covering his face, while the other man had a white cloth mask over his face.

No one was hurt during that robbery, Denis said.

Soon after Paruchuri’s death, Sunhouse officials met with police and county officials about increasing patrols around the stores in the area, and Mullis said “they had told us they would be on top of us.”

“The law has got to look at this in a different color. We’ve had two murders within a month. Something has got to be done about it,” Mullis said. “We’re trying to do everything we can to deter the robbers from coming in.”

Officials have added extra lighting outside in the parking lots and were working with the landlord of Stull’s store to increase the number of lights there, Mullis said.

“It’s needless and senseless for them [robbers]” to kill the clerks, Mullis said. “If they have done everything the robber wanted, then he should have never killed anyone. We try to do everything possible to keep everybody safe.”

For Bruce Donahue, a frequent customer to the Sunhouse where Stull worked, going in for his regular purchase of cigarettes may have to wait until daylight hours, he said Monday outside the store.

“It bothers the hell out of me that this happened. I mean how many other stores will this have to happen at before something’s done?” said Donahue, a retired police officer from the New York Police Department.

Donahue, who lives a couple miles from the store, said he had frequently spoken to Stull and was getting to know her during his trips there. He also said he had spoken with a man, who owns the store, about increasing security at the business.

“Even [in New York City], we had a lot of robberies, but there didn’t seem to be as many shootings with them like here,” Donahue said. “My heart just dropped and I had this bad feeling as soon as I saw the [crime scene] tape around the store.”

Donahue said he didn’t plan to change his routines yet, but he was considering his personal safety more during his outings to area businesses.

“I don’t carry my gun anymore and I’m glad I don’t have to, but it makes you think now should I?” Donahue said. “It’s just horrible and gut-wrenching. I feel so bad for them and her family.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2015 at 11:22 AM.