Police: Men Who Killed Tulsa Store Clerk May Have Robbed Another Store

Tulsa Police believe the two men involved in a fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk in the late evening hours of December 22, 2011, have talked to someone about their crime.

Police hope whoever they have talked with will come forward and identify the two men.

Tulsa Police are continuing to run down leads involving the murder of 55-year-old Peggy Gayton at the Shell station convenience store at 36th and Harvard.

Police believe this murder may be connected to a robbery of the Ryan's Convenience store in the 9948 East 21st on December 18, 2011. Two masked men appear to be dressed similarly to the two men in Peggy Gayton fatal shooting and attempted robbery.

Tulsa Police have released surveillance photos from the Ryan's store robbery.

"We're running down leads on the murder," said Sergeant Dave Walker of the Tulsa Police Department. "We hope that if we release this again, somebody knows something that can lead us in the right direction."

The new details were released on the same day Peggy Gayton was laid to rest.

"I'm just in shock, still in shock; it's still shocking," said Shell store manager Beth Ketterman.

Just before heading to Peggy Gaytan's funeral, Beth Ketterman explained what the 55-year-old grandmother was like.

"She was always just happy-go-lucky," Ketterman said. "She always talked about her granddaughter and how Christmas was going to be."

But three days before Christmas, the clerk at the Shell station by 36th and Harvard was shot to death in what police are calling a botched robbery attempt.

Detectives think the shoes in the video are Air Jordans. They also think the robbers are young, simply wanted quick cash and never meant to become murderers.

So, the men may be talking about their crime.

"Even a robber is going to have some sort of heart, saying 'oh, I didn't mean to do that.' Then they're going to have to have some sort of mental justification for how this happened," said Sergeant Dave Walker.

Gaytan had only worked at the gas station for three months. She was raising her 5-year-old granddaughter, and Ketterman says someone should come forward for the child's sake.

Sgt. Walker is asking anyone with information on Ryan's robbery and Gayton's murder to call Crime Stoppers 918-596-COPS or email homicide@cityoftlsa.org.

12/25/2011 Related Story: Friends, Customers Remember Tulsa Clerk Killed In Convenience Store