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The last moments of Surendra Dangol's life

Tedeschi Homicide

Boston Police have released surveillance video of the holdup of the Jamaica Plain Tedeschi, showing clerk Surendra Dangol was completely cooperating with the holdup man - who then shot him to death (that part was redacted):

Police say they are looking for a white sedan, possibly a 1986-1992 Plymouth Acclaim. They're also looking for a man who may have talked to the murderer in the 20 minutes he loitered outside the store before going in and robbing and killing Dangol, a Nepali immigrant saving to bring his wife and daughter here. Anybody with information should contact homicide detectives at (617) 343-4470 or the anonymous tip line at (800)-494-TIPS (or text TIPS to CRIME).

Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley had this to say:

There are jobs fraught with danger in this world. Police officers, firefighters, soldiers, and others know the risks of their duties, and so do their families.

Surendra Dangol did not have one of those jobs. He worked the 11 am to closing shift at a Jamaica Plain convenience store. He was a working man like countless others in Boston, and he was shot to death the day after Christmas for absolutely no reason.

What we know is this: at about 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 26, a man approached the Tedeschi’s where Surendra worked at 783 Centre Street and loitered outside for about 20 minutes. He was seen by at least one witness who sat near him on a bench. We would very much like to speak with that witness and to anyone else who was at or near Tedeschi’s between 2:30 and 3:00 on that date.

At about 3:00, the gunman entered the store, produced a firearm, and robbed Surendra. Contrary to some reports, there is no evidence to suggest that Surendra resisted or fought back. It’s clear that Surendra cooperated with his assailant. He didn’t act rashly or try to be a hero, and for that good judgment he was shot to death in cold blood. The gunman then left the store and fled as a passenger in a four-door white sedan headed toward the Jamaicaway.

This was a shocking crime – not just because a man was killed but because he was gunned down for a small stack of bills that he gave up willingly. Surendra’s death should outrage every person of faith and conscience in our community.

Since the moment of their first response, Boston Police homicide detectives have been working around the clock on this awful case. I’ve assigned Chief Trial Counsel Patrick Haggan, a seasoned and committed prosecutor, to oversee that investigation and work with detectives every step of the way as they continue to develop leads and process the evidence gathered at the crime scene.

Shortly after Surendra’s death, we released some images retrieved from a store surveillance camera. Today, we’re releasing additional images in hopes that someone will identify the assailant’s facial features, frame, gait, or clothing. In the meantime, we’re also exploring every local, state, and federal resource for further enhancement of these and other images.

Many years ago, as a young assistant DA, I responded to the scene of another murder that, tragically, involved another Nepalese immigrant who died in our city for working hard and playing by the rules. Naveen Giri was stabbed to death in a cookie shop on Beacon Hill in 1989. Giri’s death went unsolved for more than a decade until a fingerprint, found at the scene and preserved as evidence by Boston Police, was matched to the killer 13 years after the fact.

I want to make something crystal clear to whoever did this: We will not rest until you are held accountable for the life you took. Those who helped him, whether before or after the fact, can count on prosecution as well. If you know something, if you’ve heard something, or if you can identify the gunman or the driver, the time to talk with us is now.

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Comments

..that challenge my opposition to the death penalty. There is no explanation that mitigates this. Horrible, senseless, heartless.

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Boston.com commenters never fail to amuse. I'd love some of these pro-death penalty yahoos to address the additional costs to the state involved with having a death penalty on the books. If throwing someone in prison is cheaper than killing them, then lock them up and throw away the key. This is an issue I'm neither for nor against at this point. Hell, they have the death penalty up here in NH but it hasn't been used since 1939! (There is one guy currently on death row, however. He'll probably end up rotting for 20 years regardless.)

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And why does it cost so much to keep someone on death row? Because of the length of the appeal process. That could be fixed very easily. No one should ever be on death row for more than five years. Limit appeals, process them promptly, and get it over with.

Happy now?

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Oh, how simple. Why thank you, NotWhitey for that insight.

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Sure Whitey.

Can you [coherently] explain to me how you can reconcile that the government never [or at the very least infrequently] does any good; but will always get the right guy in a speedy, without-appeal execution?

Oh, that's right; It'll never happen to you, only the bad guys!

I'm pretty progressive, yet I have nothing against the death penalty. My conservative intuition, and the facts on the ground tell me that giving the state the right of executioner is just too far; because even one wrong conviction and sentence carried out is one too far.

Rehabilitation for those that can, Cages for those who can't, and CJ reforms that focus on justice, not metrics.

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Can you [coherently] explain to me how you can reconcile that the government never [or at the very least infrequently] does any good; but will always get the right guy in a speedy, without-appeal execution?

Your words, not mine. A classic case of prejudice - you judge me without knowing me, based on a stereotype you carry around in your head. What we've got here is the very definition of a bigot.

I didn't say anything about government, I didn't say anything about "speedy," and I didn't say anything about "without-appeal." But then I don't fit your stereotype.

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Let's use the victim fund to bring the guy's wife and kid over here so that they can beat the killer to death. That would be the justice I'd like to see.

In the meantime, what a great statement by Dan Conley. What an excellent community leader. I'd like to be a district attorney when I grow up because of him.

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Texas is still waiting with open arms Will.

Sheriff Arpaio has a nice, friendly, lawful country just waiting for you! Just don't cross the wrong person.

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I think that the person who committed this cold-blooded murder should be forced to suffer the same kind of pain and agony that he inflicted on his victim's family. They should lock the murderer up for good and throw away the key.

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:o)

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As one who works for Tedeschi's on the third shift, I can say that it is abhorrent to see this sort of thing happen to a fellow employee. The man did not take this position with the idea that he'd lose his life while on the job. He was working here in order to save up enough money to bring the rest of his family (wife and daughter) to the USA.

As for the jerk who murdered him, let this be clear: There is videotape evidence of the murder. Such tape has now been released to the police and to the general public (through the internet). When the murderer is captured, he will have a full and fair trial at which he will be allowed to show "reasonable doubt". If he cannot do that, then he will be convicted for the murder of this human being who was a loving husband and father.

The death penalty is not something that is handed out for jaywalking, routine parking tickets, or such other relatively minor offenses. It is only handed down for the most serious and heinous of crimes. At no time did the murderer show any hesitation about what he was doing. He wanted money, and then pulled the trigger after the man emptied the register. What was the matter with the jerk? Wasn't there enough money for him? TOO BAD!
Rotting away in jail for 20 years or more is too good for him. Why should we taxpayers have to bear the cost of 3 square meals per day for a man who murdered without hesitation? Why should we taxpayers be forced to provide medical care to such a person?

If and when he is convicted, if he is sentenced to the death penalty he should be allowed no more than one appeal, and only if it is based on very clear and compelling (and new) evidence that will exonerate him. Without new evidence, there should be no basis for further appeals.

You see, the problem with such cases costing so much is that the appeals process is too liberal. It gives too much weight and concern for the convicted person, and no weight at all to the victims and their right to see justice served.

My heart goes out to the family. May they find peace.

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Well David?

The killer was on parole from a 'life sentence' for murdering someone in 1971. He was able to kill again because of you and other people who are against the death penalty. Are you now for the death penalty?

You may say that he should have been kept in prison. But we never know what will happen for certain in the future with these people. Like minded politicians may release them on a whim, or they are paroled as in this case.

Who is to blame for this? You, David, share some of this blame, because of your beief and because of whom you vote for.

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You're a death penalty advocate who doesn't believe in personal responsibility?

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What's the purpose of releasing this? (on youtube of all place, i can just imagine the "LOL First!!!1!" comments) Post stills of the suspect, fine, if it will help catch this asshole, but what public good is served by the police making the last minute of this man's life available to anyone with an Internet connection?

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Michael, at first I thought the same thing, but then I realized how this video captures the utter, complete senselessness of the crime. There is nothing in Mr. Dangol's actions, body language, or behavior that conveys resistance, 'tude, ANYTHING but steady cooperation.

Despite all the outrageous video that gets posted online, what's shocking -- and frightening -- about this is that someone could do exactly what they're supposed to do in this situation and still lose his life. I don't see that as ghoulish; more a reminder of the outrageous brutality of the crime. They got what they wanted, without resistance, and still had to shoot this poor man.

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1) A video clip provides a better likeness than video stills, which are jagged and blocky.

2) The video clip provides considerably more information, including a clearer sense of the perpetrator's physical stature and some other details -- for instance, there is a blue backpack used in the crime that I hope someone recognizes.

3) The video clip released to the public cuts off well before the shooting, so it's not so ghoulish as all that. It certainly does not glamorize the perpetrator, if that's a concern.

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It seems like right at the end of the video, Surendra motions to the safe or the lottery machine as if to say that he can't access anything inside of it...which may have caused the shooter to fire.

It might explain why he still fired after getting everything from the till.

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or does the robber look like a chick from the second video angle? It's not just the long hair, either. The hands look slender, feminine. And even the few facial features we can ascertain seem feminine.

I use that Tedeschi's all the time and I know Mr. Dangol rang up my purchases numerous times. This is just horrifying. Somebody somewhere has got to recognize this person.

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I agree, although some have commented that the perpetrator is wearing a wig, which is at least plausible.

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This one shows the thug before and after the murder - he hangs around on the benches outside, talks to the getaway driver (seems to be telling him where to wait), loiters some more, goes inside, robs and murders, runs out, gets in the car and they drive away.

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While I obviously think this is horrible, maybe you could refer to the alleged perpetrator as just that? Or "gunman" or somesuch? This site usually has too much integrity to stoop to Heraldlike slurs, no matter how much someone might deserve them.

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forgive me, it's been a long day.....exactly how is the word "thug" a slur??

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"Homicidal-Americans."

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Not a funny topic, but Sock Puppet, thanks for making me laugh just then.

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It's a judgmental word used to refer to someone.

Why not just say that this person was caught on camera shooting an innocent person? I think that pretty much does it.

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Well, in that case, by your own standards of not using judgmental words, you should probably not call the 'person' innocent, because, well, that's making a judgment, isn't it? And because you haven't actually seen the person shoot anybody on camera, because that footage hasn't been released, you probably shouldn't slander this unnamed biological entity (can't be sure that entity is human, could be anything and I really don't want to leap to judgments about this...trying to be super fair!) either.

I mean, you weren't even there! You don't even know the video tape is legitimate! You can't even be sure that this isn't just one big dream and when you go to sleep is when YOU REALLY REALLY LIVE.

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Let me add this comment:

You must be a total idiot to have written your comment. You wrote the following line:
"You don't even know the video tape is legitimate!"

How totally ignorant!

Tedeschi's is an old, family-run corporation, with 10-15 cameras in every store. It is literally impossible to enter one of our stores and NOT be on video tape. We even post notices at the entrance.

So let me tell you: The tape IS legitimate. It DID indeed show that a murder was done at a specific store. It showed the victim, and it showed as much of the murderer as was possible to see, given the disguise that was worn.

Get your head out of the clouds, and stop being so stupid.

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But never quite so appropriately as in this instance. In fact, here it's actually an understatement, in my opinion. Surely, eeka, you have used terms that convey moral judgment in your postings from time to time ("bigot", perhaps, or "jerk" or some such thing)? If not, you must have exercised almost superhuman restraint, since you are a frequent and sometimes passionate poster who seems to have a well-developed sense of right and wrong.
As blogs like this combine reporting of the news with a certain amount of opinion, I see no problem using language with judgmental connotations to describe a murderer such as this individual.

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Oh, I totally get that, and I'm definitely not immune to such language in my own posts or conversations. I didn't, however, use words like "thug" when I wrote for professional publications. I guess that was kind of the point I was bringing up; is this a personal blog, or a professional publication, or some blending of all of the above? The great thing about Internet media is that there isn't really an answer, but I guess what I was reacting to was that the terminology jumped out to me as out of place in this context. I usually feel like Adam's personal voice certainly comes through on the site, which it should, but that he maintains professional journalistic integrity when reporting about hard news and is more spirited when reporting on things like what kind of crap people are using as space savers. So, anyway, I wasn't arguing that the term was inaccurate, but rather was referring to the standard in journalism that a good writer for a good publication doesn't need to use emotional descriptors, because the readers don't need to be told what to think. If you're finding the need to call something "senseless" or "horrific" or "amazing" or whatnot, then you're either not telling the story well, or your audience doesn't have strong reading and/or thinking skills. Same goes for needing to call someone "thug" when you've already done a sufficient job reporting on what a horrible thing the person did.

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It's true that the Globe doesn't use terms like that in the news stories, though they might in the opinion section.

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Worth about a penny and I'll let Adam answer to his own desires of what this site is to be, but I see this as a secondary news source and as such, closer to a news-based opinion blog than an online newspaper. If I want the news, I don't necessarily turn here, but I do turn here when there's news I want to discuss and find different angles on the story that won't normally make the major news agencies in town.

So, seeing "thug" in the initial piece is perfectly fine with me. I'm pretty adept at determining the meat of the story from Adam's personal opinions on any of the issues he brings up. I think most of us are. He's also usually taking a middle-of-the-road opinion that doesn't usually upset anyone in general...and I think "thug" falls there too given the nature of the crime committed.

If you want the Globe, it's at boston.com. This is UHub and I appreciate the color commentary mixed in with the news.

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I thought thug wasn't strong enough, so I looked it up - Merriam Webster defines a thug as a brutal ruffian or assassin. Sounds about right to me.

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The shooter is defintely a thug by anybody's judgement. "Thug" is probably too nice. We don't know who this person is, we just know what they did. Calling them a thug or any other judgemental name is perfectly fair, IMHO.

Now, if someone gets arrested and Adam posts a new entry calling the alleged shooter a thug, then you may have a case. We would have a person, not yet convicted, entitled to a trial and any comments referring to their guiltyness(?) could be called judgemental.

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The shooter is undeniably a thug (or worse). On the other hand, until someone is actually convicted for the crime, it would be inappropriate to designate a suspect a "thug".

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A nearby Citizens Bank is collecting donations:

Citizens Bank
696 Centre St
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

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a few days later two variety stores were hit within minutes in brighton - with a gun.

i feel saddened for his family and the nepali community. and he also lived where i live in somerville.

i feel sickened by the total disrespect for life in this country.

89-95 dodge spirit, huh? white or silver - latest report was it was an accomplices car.

check all white/silver spirits and plymouth sundances (same body style) in the police/rmv database - there are hundreds....

how do we know it wasant torched or thrown in the river?

and this guy had a wig.... itll take awile if ever to catch this animal? and have ay idea how many unsolved murders there are?

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