More than four years after two convenience store employees were found fatally shot inside a 7-Eleven in Newport News, Virginia, a 24-year-old man is facing federal charges tied to the deadly robbery.
Jordan Isaiah Pierce is accused of killing 52-year-old Preyas Patel and 35-year-old Logan Edward Thomas during a June 15, 2022, robbery in which lottery tickets were stolen. Federal prosecutors allege that Pierce used a Draco pistol in the attack before fleeing with an accomplice.
The case has also drawn attention to a second alleged robbery weeks later, when investigators say the same firearm was used during a holdup at another convenience store.
A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Pierce on October 14, 2026. The charges include two counts of using a firearm in a crime of violence resulting in death, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, interference with commerce by robbery, and using a firearm in a crime of violence.
The indictment represents a significant development in a case that investigators continued building long after the two employees were killed.
Two employees found dead inside the store
Police were called to the 7-Eleven in the 1400 block of Kiln Creek Parkway shortly before midnight on June 15, 2022, after receiving a report of a suspicious situation.
When officers arrived, they found Patel and Thomas inside the convenience store with gunshot wounds. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to federal prosecutors, Pierce and a co-conspirator entered the store intending to commit a robbery and took an undisclosed number of lottery tickets. Pierce allegedly carried the Draco pistol and shot the two employees during the incident.
The killings left investigators facing a serious crime scene and the challenge of identifying those responsible.
The case eventually developed beyond the original robbery investigation, with authorities examining evidence connected to another convenience store holdup in the same city.
A second robbery brought new evidence into the case
On July 11, 2022, investigators say Pierce and a co-conspirator robbed Market Express, located in the 13300 block of Warwick Boulevard in Newport News.
According to an FBI affidavit, the second robbery involved a gunman who pointed a Draco pistol at the store clerk and demanded money. The alleged accomplice then took approximately $800 from the register.
Pierce allegedly stood nearby and assisted with the robbery. The pair reportedly fled in a black Nissan Altima.
Investigators believe the firearm used in the July incident was the same weapon involved in the fatal June robbery.
Surveillance footage became an important part of the investigation. An investigator said Pierce was recognized in video from both incidents, helping authorities connect the two cases.
The second robbery provided investigators with another set of circumstances to examine as they worked to establish who participated in the crimes and how the incidents were connected.
Cellphone messages became part of the investigation
Investigators also examined cellphone evidence they say linked Pierce to the July robbery.
According to the FBI affidavit, Pierce frequently used a rose-gold iPhone 6 that authorities seized from another alleged co-conspirator.
At approximately 10:04 a.m. on July 11, a message was reportedly sent to the phone stating, “It’s just da dude wit da glasses.” Investigators said the description matched the store clerk involved in the Market Express robbery.
Cellular records placed the phone in the vicinity of the store that morning, according to the affidavit.
Additional messages recovered from the device on July 13 allegedly referred to the robbery. Investigators said the phone’s user warned the registered owner of a Nissan Altima that the vehicle had been used during a robbery.
Taken together, the surveillance footage, cellphone communications and location records formed part of the evidence investigators used to build their case.
Authorities have not publicly identified the alleged co-conspirator who accompanied Pierce during the robberies. The search for that individual has remained a separate part of the investigation.
Why the federal indictment matters
The latest indictment brings the case into a federal prosecution involving both the alleged killings and the robberies.
The firearm-related charges involving deaths carry particularly serious potential consequences under federal law. The robbery and conspiracy counts address the alleged taking of property and the claimed participation of multiple people.
The case is being prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia under case number 4:26-cr-70.
Although the indictment lays out the allegations against Pierce, it does not establish guilt. Prosecutors must prove the charges in court, and Pierce is presumed innocent unless and until he is found guilty.
The investigation also illustrates how evidence gathered during one alleged crime can become relevant to another case. Surveillance recordings, electronic communications and cellular location information can help investigators reconstruct events, although that evidence must still be evaluated through the legal process.
Police chief says investigators built a substantial case
Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said investigators had identified a person of interest after the two robberies but needed additional evidence before moving forward.
Speaking about the case, Drew expressed confidence in the evidence investigators had assembled.
“I think the jury will be blown away by the amount of evidence and what we have,” he said, adding that he believed prosecutors would present a strong argument.
His comments reflect the investigative effort behind the new charges, but the strength of the case will ultimately be assessed through court proceedings.
For the families of Patel and Thomas, the indictment marks a new stage in a case involving the deaths of two men who were working inside a neighborhood convenience store when the robbery occurred.
What happens next?
Pierce now faces the federal charges outlined in the superseding indictment. Prosecutors will have to present evidence supporting each count, while the defense will have the opportunity to challenge the allegations and the evidence.
Authorities have not publicly named the alleged accomplice in the robberies in the information available about the indictment.
The case leaves several important questions for the legal process to address, including the full circumstances of the June killings and the respective roles of the people investigators say participated in the two robberies.
More than four years after Patel and Thomas were killed, the case has reached a new stage. Whether the evidence described by investigators will be sufficient to secure convictions will be determined in court.
