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A Stockton man was charged on Monday in the murder of a 78-year-old gas station employee in San Leandro last month, police said.
Security cameras showed the suspect, 40-year-old Dennis Lee, shoving the victim, Wadih Badran, into a pole during a confrontation at the Speedway gas station on East 14th Street near Bancroft Avenue on Feb. 22 around noon. Badran had found Lee loitering behind the businesses and an altercation ensued, resulting in head and neck injuries that proved to be fatal, police said.
The suspect immediately fled the scene, but police used surveillance cameras and forensic evidence to identify him.
During searches at the homes of Lee and his parents, police found clothing that had been worn that looked similar to clothing seen in the surveillance footage, as well as two illegally possessed firearms.
Police took Lee into custody on Friday near his home in Stockton. He was charged Monday by the Alameda County District Attorney’s office with murder and weapons violations.