ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo — A man charged with shooting and killing a Circle K clerk, who prosecutors said complied with every demand, was convicted by an Arapahoe County jury of first-degree murder, the 18th Judicial District announced Monday.
Isaiah Birch, 32, was found guilty Thursday of robbery and murder in the 2020 Thanksgiving day shooting that left the convenience store clerk lying on the floor behind the counter dying from a gunshot wound to his left abdomen.
The robbery and shooting happened around 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 26, 2020, at the Circle K gas station located at 8263 S. Quebec St. – near the intersection of Quebec St. and E. County Line Road.
Prosecutors said a masked Birch entered the store, approached the clerk, and asked for a carton of cigarettes. Birch then pointed a long-barreled revolver through the plexiglass divider and demanded everything in the register.
“Dude, it’s going to be you, your stomach, or the money,” Birch said to the victim. “I can shoot you when I leave, or I can shoot you right now.”
After the clerk complied with the demands, Birch said “thank you,” before shooting the clerk in the stomach and walking out, prosecutors said.
“This was an entirely senseless act of inhumanity,” District Attorney John Kellner said in a news release. “This defendant needlessly ended the life of an innocent man, who had done nothing but comply with his demands.”
Responding deputies found the victim conscious at the time and he was able to tell deputies more details about the suspect. The clerk was taken to an area hospital, where he died in surgery, according to the authorities.
Birch was convicted of first-degree murder (after-deliberation and felony murder), two counts of aggravated robbery, and tampering with physical evidence.
A sentencing hearing is set for April 22. He is facing life in prison.