WARNING: Graphic Content
Gas station robbery that ended with bystander killing suspect was staged as part of visa scheme: police
An armed robber who was shot and killed by a bystander was only pretending to hold up a couple in a twisted, ongoing plot to get nonimmigrant visas, according to officials charging an alleged accomplice with felony murder.
Rasshauud Scott, 22, was seen on surveillance footage late Jan. 27 running up to a couple filling up their car at a Chevron gas station in Houston, Texas, according to court documents shared by Fox News Digital.
After seemingly robbing the pair of a purse and wallet, he turned and ran — before an alarmed witness pulled out a gun and shot him in the head, killing him, the affidavit notes.
However, a series of messages later showed that Scott wasn’t even really robbing the couple — with his widow, Sade Beverly, telling cops it “was a set up” as part of an ongoing crime ring, the docs said.
His alleged accomplice, William Winfrey, 30, told Scott the fatal robbery would be the “usual gas pump s–t,” telling him to “make all that s–t look real,” according to the affidavit.
In a police interview, one of the pretend victims “confirmed that the robbery was in fact a set-up, and the purpose of the scheme is to obtain a U-visa,” the affidavit said.
That refers to “U Nonimmigrant Status,” which is granted to victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to authorities investigating or prosecuting suspects.
Police then realized there was a “pattern” of similar reported robberies — and that the victims “had applied for, or been granted U-visas due to their status as victims of these crimes,” the affidavit said.
Winfrey was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder in connection with Scottt’s death. He was denied bond Monday.
He admitted in interviews under oath that he and Scott had carried out “staged robberies” for around a year “in order to obtain a U-visa” for the people in on it, the affidavit said.,
Scott’s fiancée, Sade Beverly, said she now has to raise their two kids alone.
“He didn’t deserve what happened to him at all. He was making a dumb decision. I’m not defending him, of course, but he didn’t deserve to die,” she told Fox 26.
Beverly said she knew what he was doing was wrong, but argued that he should have his day in court.
“Somebody still lost a life at the end of the day. Have some decorum,” she told the outlet. “It would have eventually caught up to him, and he would have had to learn the hard way. He just took him out. He didn’t get the chance to fix his mistakes.”
The woman also said the “real issue” is lax gun laws.
“They need to change. I don’t see how people are able to say it’s OK to take somebody’s life. It’s never OK,” Beverly said.
She also called for the bystander who shot her husband to be charged.
The shooter, later identified as Jesus Vargas, initially fled, before handing himself in and telling cops he opened fire because he feared for his life as well as those of the pair he thought were being attacked and held up at gunpoint.
“He’s the one behind the trigger. He’s the one who made that decision,” Scott’s widow told Fox 26 of Vargas.
Police said Vargas was not involved in the fake robbery and was released, ABC 13 reported.
No decision was immediately available about possible charges against him in connection with the shooting
There also are no records indicating whether the fake robbery victims have been charged.
