Man charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Fall River convenience store owner
FALL RIVER — A man is facing a murder charge in the fatal shooting of a Rock Street convenience store owner last month.
Nelson F. Coelho, 37, who is listed as homeless, is accused of shooting and killing Lal Kishor Mahaseth in his Stop N Save convenience store at 201 Rock St. on the evening of Oct. 18.
Other charges being lodged against Coelho include attempted armed and masked robbery and carrying an illegal firearm.
'He was trying to live his life': Convenience store homicide shocks Rock Street neighbors
Police have also charged Coelho with using a gun to rob another convenience store within walking distance of the Stop N Save. He's been held without bail since being arraigned on those charges.
They allege that the night before Mahaseth was shot in the chest and killed in his Rock Street store, Coelho used a handgun to rob the 7 Days Food Mart convenience store on Durfee Street.
Police said Coelho made off with $1,253 in cash from the first robbery in which no one was injured.
Criminal charges against Coelho for that Oct. 17 strong-arm robbery include armed and masked robbery, two counts of breaking and entering for a misdemeanor and two counts of trespassing.
Mahaseth, 54, also owned another convenience store on Locust Street and is survived by his wife and their three children.
His body was flown back to his native Nepal for a traditional Hindu service, according to friends who attended a memorial service at a Fall River funeral home.
'We can't stop a bullet': Fall River convenience store owners grieve for slain shopkeeper Lal Mahaseth
Inside the Mahaseth murder investigation
A police report said surveillance evidence from a number of cameras in the vicinity of the Durfee Street store showed a Volvo SUV alleged to have been Coelho’s getaway vehicle.
The report also refers to the killing of Mahaseth less than 24 hours later on Monday night.
Police say it appears that 75 minutes lapsed between the time Mahaseth was shot and when a customer walked into the Stop N Save shortly after 10:30 p.m. and found him on the floor behind the counter.
Police say they arrested Coelho on Oct. 25 hiding in a closet of a vacant apartment inside a house at 251 Pine St.
Coelho, police said, had been squatting in the building by sleeping on the second floor landing and was friendly with tenants — including a woman, her boyfriend, identified as Samuel Lozano, and his 73-year-old father.
Lozano's father, police said, is the registered owner of the Volvo SUV used in the robbery of the Durfee Street store.
Witness interview puts a gun in the suspect's hand
In addition to surveillance evidence, police said they interviewed another Fall River woman who for two weeks had reportedly been involved in a physical relationship with Coelho.
She allegedly told police that leading up to the robbery of 7 Days Food Mart that she, Coelho and Lozano spent Saturday, Oct. 16, and Sunday, Oct. 17, smoking crack cocaine in the apartment house.
At one point on Sunday night, as Coelho and Lozano prepared to leave the Pine Street residence, the 43-year-old woman told police she watched as Lozano handed a black handgun to Coelho.
Police say she also told them that after the two men came back to the Pine Street house, after being gone for only a short time, they counted the cash and then used $300 from the robbery to buy an eighth of an ounce, known on the street as an 8 ball, of crack cocaine.
All three then proceeded to smoke the drug, she allegedly told police.
According to the police report, the woman told detectives Coelho subsequently admitted to her that he had shot Mahaseth in his Rock Street store but had not intended to do so.
Coelho allegedly told her the gun “got stuck” and also asked her to be his alibi for the events of that night.
A suspected driver arrested on warrant
During their investigation police arrested Lozano on an outstanding warrant.
Lozano allegedly admitted having driven Coelho in the Volvo SUV the night that Coelho robbed 7 Days Food Mart.
Police charged Lozano with a single count of armed robbery while masked in connection to the Durfee Street store robbery, according to a police press release issued on Oct. 26.
Police, in their report, said Lozano insisted he played no role the following night in the botched robbery of the Rock Street convenience store that led to Mahaseth being shot to death.
Lozano allegedly told police the only reason he agreed to drive the SUV the night of the 7 Days Food Mart robbery was because Coelho threatened him with a gun.
He also told police he was afraid Coelho might harm members of his family if he failed to comply.
Lozano said Coelho paid him $100 for his role in the Sunday night Oct. 17 robbery.
Police also said they accumulated evidence that Coelho used a pen to try to obscure tattoos on both his hands.
The image of a tattoo on his right hand was caught on surveillance video and was subsequently used by police as an identifying mark, as they appealed to the public for help in apprehending a suspect.
Coelho's arraignment was originally scheduled for Nov. 4, but was rescheduled for Monday, Nov. 8.
The postponement allows more time for the state to find a public defender who is certified to handle murder cases, according to the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.
Charles Winokoor may be reached at cwinokoor@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism and subscribe to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River convenience store owner killed: suspect charged with murder
