A second Richmond man was convicted yesterday for his role in the fatal beating of one man and for beating another man nearly to death the same day. Jose C. Bello-Garcia, 25, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the March 29 death of Baudilio Lopez-Andres, 52, in an abandoned house along Jefferson Davis Highway, and to malicious wounding for the beating of another man behind the nearby Golden Food Market.

A Richmond man was convicted yesterday for fatally beating one man in an abandoned house and for beating another man nearly to death behind the Golden Food Market the same day. Jose Raul Gaitan, 27, entered an Alford plea to a charge of second-degree murder, meaning he does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict him. He also pleaded guilty to malicious wounding.

Colin Goddard can relate to the experience of the frightened patrons who ducked behind counters or fled Golden Food Market during a robbery-turned-shootout. Goddard was wounded April 16, 2007, when Seung-Hui Cho burst into a Virginia Tech classroom and opened fire. Now 23 and a Tech graduate, God dard works as an intern at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington.

The man who fatally wounded a would-be robber in a South Richmond store recounted yesterday a tense shootout and hand-to-hand struggle that ended when the man hit the robber on the head with a gun, knocking him out. The robber, identified by police as James Grooms III, shot and wounded the owner of the Golden Food Market on July 11, but Grooms was shot by an armed friend of the owner as customers took cover.

Hours after a robbery suspect died of wounds from a weekend shooting in a South Richmond store, police officials met last night with area business owners to discuss efforts to curb crime. James Grooms III, 30, died about 11:20 a.m. yesterday at VCU Medical Center of injuries sustained Saturday during the attempted robbery at the Golden Food Market in the 2700 block of Jefferson Davis Highway.

Three days after Mustapha Kassou was shot in an attempted robbery in his store in South Richmond, he said that he owed his life to the man who ended the ordeal by shooting the robber. Yesterday, Kassou returned to Golden Food Market on Jefferson Davis Highway for the first time since he was shot there Saturday afternoon. Kassou said the masked robber walked into the store shortly after 1 p.m. and seemed startled to see about eight people inside. The robber told everyone to get on the floor, and then he fired at Kassou and hit him twice, he said.

Golden Food Market sat dark and empty yesterday, a metal gate pulled down over its façade following a brazen midday robbery-turned-shootout Saturday. A couple of blocks north on Jefferson Davis Highway, a wood-framed photo of slain co-owner Ashraf “Alex” Alatiyat greeted the few customers who trickled in to Come and Go Food Market.

Richmond police have charged a 30-year-old South Richmond man in the aborted robbery of a convenience store that left him and the store owner wounded. James Grooms of the 2200 block of Chalfont Drive remains hospitalized after being shot by a friend of the owner of Golden Food Market at 2701 Jefferson Davis Highway in South Richmond, police said.

Richmond police have charged a 30-year-old South Richmond man in the aborted robbery of a convenience store that left him and the store owner wounded. James Grooms of the 2200 block of Chalfont Drive remains hospitalized after being shot by a friend of the owner of Golden Food Market at 2701 Jefferson Davis Highway in South Richmond. Grooms shot the store owner and fired at several customers, missing them, in the attempted robbery on Saturday just after 1 p.m.

Richmond police are investigating the shooting of a convenience store clerk last night on Jefferson Davis highway only about three blocks from where a shopkeeper was killed this week. Two gun-wielding males wearing all black entered the Golden Food Market in the 2700 block of Jefferson Davis shortly before 10 p.m., said Richmond police Capt. Scott Booth.