Death penalty sought in deadly Sunhouse store robberies

Two Loris men charged with fatally shooting two clerks in January 2015 during separate Sunhouse convenience store robberies could face the death penalty.

On Tuesday, Horry County Solicitor Jimmy Richardson announced he served notice of intent to seek the death penalty against McKinley Lee Daniels, 34, and a similar notice was served last week for Jerome Jenkins Jr., 21, of Loris, who is also charged in connection with the alleged crime spree, according to a press release.

“It really is the ultimate punishment, and we really don’t do it often and never have,” Richardson said of requesting the death penalty.

Daniels was arrested Feb. 1, 2015 in connection to the shooting deaths of Bala Paruchuri, who was killed Jan. 2, 2015, and Trisha Stull, who was Jan. 25, 2015, in two separate robberies at Sunhouse convenience stores, authorities said.

Richardson served his notice to seek the death penalty in the pending trial and filed notice Tuesday, as required by South Carolina law, officials said.

In connection with Paruchuri and Stull’s deaths, Daniels faces the following charges: two counts of murder; one count of attempted murder; two counts of armed robbery; two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime; failure to stop for a blue light; possession of a stolen vehicle and resisting arrest, officials said.

Additionally, Daniels is charged with armed robbery and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in connection with an unrelated incident Jan. 25, at the Scotchman in the Lake Arrowhead area of North Myrtle Beach.

The death penalty is being sought because the alleged crime spree involved two murders and three armed robberies, Richardson said.

On Jan. 2, Paruchuri, 40, was shot and killed inside the Sunhouse store at 7406 S.C. 905. He was gunned down while the suspects were leaving the store after demanding money out of the register, police said.

Surveillance video shows Paruchuri putting his hands in the air and cooperating before he was shot multiple times, authorities said.

Stull, 30, had only worked at the Sunhouse store at 2697 Oak St. in Conway for a few weeks before she was shot twice; she had hit the store’s panic button to silently alert police something was wrong, police said.

The mother of two was pronounced dead inside the store.

Police later said that the robbery at the Scotchman on Jan. 25, 2015 and the robbery and Stull’s death at the Sunhouse store were connected and involved the same suspects.

In the Scotchman store robbery, two men went into the business at 9 p.m. Jan. 25, 2015, pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money, police said. The men wore hooded sweatshirts, and one had a dark cloth mask covering his face, while the other man had a white cloth mask over his face.

No one was hurt during that robbery, according to authorities.

James Elbert Daniels Jr., 28, of Nichols are also charged in connection with the fatal shootings and robberies.

“That’s something we rarely do, but it certainly meets the criteria here,” Richardson said.

James Daniels hasn’t been served a notice to seek the death penalty, according to a press release, and Richardson said it’s possible he could face the death penalty too, but nothing has been decided.

All the defendants remain jailed and are awaiting trial.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Death penalty sought in deadly Sunhouse store robberies."