He Was Part Of A String Of Robberies At Texas Connivence Stores. One Ended With A Owner Dead.

Zion Talavera and another Texas man went on a robbery spree in 2019 that included the fatal shooting of one store owner. Now, he'll be going to prison for 50 years.

A judge recently handed down the sentence for the 22-year-old Talavera, who took a please deal in a capital murder case in connection to the death of Gemunu Gamarachchilage, who was in the hospital for more than 500 days before dying from the shooting.

Linda Lopez, Gamarachchilage's common-law wife, said in court that the family lost everything while he was trying to recover, according to KSAT.

“Once we lost our business we lost our home,” Lopez said. “We lost everything, and I was homeless living out of my car for 10 months.”

Talavera, who was 18 at the time of the crime, had previously been sentenced to 20 years for aggravated robbery. The sentences run concurrently, and he will be forced to pay more than $2 million in restitution.

According to Fox 29, three people were charged with aggravated robbery in connection to the series of crimes, including Armando Narvaez, who has yet to be sentenced, and Cami Payton, who is serving 10 years for his part in the crimes.

Fox 29 reported that Gamarachchilage died in December 2020 from injuries sustained in the shooting.

“The certificate describes the immediate cause of death as complications of gunshot wounds and the manner of death is listed as a homicide,” the court documents state.