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Store where clerk was killed reopens
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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The Breaden Market on the South Side remained closed for more than a week after the murder of a clerk inside the store, but the owner has now reopened the business and implemented new safety precautions.
YOUNGSTOWN
The South Side store where a 44-year-old clerk was killed early last week reopened Tuesday morning with added precautions.
George Rafidi, owner of the Breaden Market at the corner of Breaden and Overland avenues, was tending shop alone Tuesday morning, but he said there no longer will be a single employee running the store at any one time.
Rafidi was scheduled for a doctor’s appointment and locked the store up rather than have his new employee come tend to the business.
Rafidi said he has hired a man from the immediate neighborhood to tend to the store. Rafidi also will be there during business hours.
“A guy that lives across the street will be running the store from now on, and I will be here too to hang out,” said Rafidi. “He won’t be here by himself. I won’t let that happen ever.”
Rafidi’s added concern for safety at the store comes on the heels of the murder of one of his employees last week.
Christopher V. Weston of Lordstown died in the Breaden Market on Dec. 14. A neighbor across the street went into the store at 1026 Overland Ave. to buy groceries and use the telephone and found him behind the counter.
Police say Weston had been shot multiple times. His body was found about noon.
“They shot him for nothing. They came in, and he went to reach for something and they shot him twice in the back, once in the neck and in the shoulder,” Rafidi said.
Rafidi said he believes robbery may have been a factor in the murder. He said there is an undetermined amount of cash missing from the store since the shooting.
Rafidi said it is too early to determine if customers will be reluctant to return to the store after the murder. He said most people frequent the store in the afternoon hours, and he has not been open in the afternoon since the shooting.
Two customers came into the store between 11:30 a.m. and noon Tuesday. One woman asked about the murder investigation while purchasing her cigarettes and said she was reluctant to come into the store again after the death. She said the situation shook her up.
In addition to more than one person working behind the counter, Rafidi has purchased a surveillance camera system to install in the store. The system will include four cameras and will monitor the one-room store from all angles.
Police have not made any arrest in the murder and are looking for help from the public in determining who is responsible for the crime. Police also are trying to nail down a motive for the shooting. Weston’s wallet was found empty next to his body.
Capt. Rod Foley said detectives still are asking the public to call the department at 330-742-8911 or Crime Stoppers at 330-746-CLUE with any information about the crime.