Daymon L. Heard

VALDOSTA — A Valdosta man suspected of shooting and killing a convenience store clerk during a 2008 robbery has been formally charged.

A Lowndes County grand jury has indicted Daymon L. Heard, 20, on charges of malice murder, armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to information obtained from the Southern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office in Lowndes County.

Heard was arrested following the July 30, 2008, shooting death of 48-year-old Jay Patel, a Twin Lakes convenience store clerk. The incident occurred around 5 p.m. when a black male entered the Triangle Foods convenience store located on U.S. 41, took a soft drink up to the checkout counter, pulled out a 9mm handgun and shot Patel without saying a word, former Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Capt. J.D. Yeager told The Times in July 2008.

Patel reportedly fell behind the counter and was shot three more times by the assailant.

Yeager said the gunman walked around the counter, emptied the cash drawer and left. However, he reportedly returned seconds later, stepping over Patel’s body to grab a pack of cigarettes before exiting the store.

A customer discovered a wounded Patel about 15 minutes later and alerted authorities.

Patel was transported to South Georgia Medical Center where he later died. He was married and had two children.

Authorities from Lowndes County, Lake Park, Remerton and Valdosta spent the remainder of the night searching for the offender while sheriff’s investigators reviewed the store surveillance tape and interviewed witnesses. The surveillance video revealed that the offender had come into the store a few minutes prior to the robbery to use the phone.

During the course of the investigation, various people came forward and identified Heard as the assailant, Yeager said.

Heard was captured the following evening at his girlfriend’s house in Jacksonville, Fla., after a 24-hour manhunt.

Witness statements also led authorities to believe that Heard was connected to a residential burglary in the Lake Park area on the same afternoon of the robbery and shooting. As a result, he was indicted on one count of burglary in October 2008, according to indictment papers.