Killer Gets 60 Years in Death of Wichita Falls Convenience Store Owner

Clifton John Russell IV, one of two teen suspects charged in the capital murder of convenience store owner Muhammad Ahmad in January 2012, plead guilty to first degree murder this morning in 30^th District Court. Judge Bob Brotherton sentenced Russell to 60 years in prison.

Russell admitted to being the gunman and was scheduled to go to trial later this month.  He will be eligible for parole in 30 years.

Russell and an accomplice, Michael Shay Graves, who was 19 at the time of the murder, went to Mo’s Grocery Store on Old Iowa Park Road on January 9, 2012 at around 4 pm. Graves told police he stood at the door while Russell went inside to rob 66 year-old Ahmad at gunpoint. During the course of the robbery, Russell shot Ahmad in the chest at point blank range. Graves and Russell fled on foot.  Ahmad died later that evening at United Regional.

Graves was arrested on January 11, 2012 on a probation violation stemming from a previous assault/family violence conviction.

Because of his age at the time of the murder, Graves can still face life without parole if convicted. He is awaiting a trial date and remains in the Wichita County Jail under a $1.5 million bond on the capital murder charge.