Authorities allege the shootings in Mesquite and Dallas happened about a day apart during robberies for lottery tickets.
MESQUITE, Texas — A 21-year-old man accused of killing two North Texas convenience store clerks in separate robberies told investigators he stole lottery tickets in hopes of getting enough money for an apartment, according to arrest records released after his June 2024 arrest.
Police say the case drew attention across the Dallas area because the two shootings happened close together, targeted workers behind store counters and quickly led investigators to ask whether one suspect was responsible for both attacks. Davonta Mathis was booked into the Dallas County jail and faced capital murder allegations after authorities tied him to the death of 60-year-old Muhammad Hussain in Mesquite and the later killing of 32-year-old Gopi Krishna Dasari in Dallas. The allegations, if proved, describe two fatal robberies carried out with little warning and followed by a short police chase.
Investigators say the first killing happened on Thursday, June 20, at a convenience store off West Bruton Road in Mesquite. According to the affidavit described by local news outlets, Mathis later told police he entered the store, shot Hussain in the chest and took lottery tickets. Mesquite police said surveillance video and the later use of stolen tickets helped investigators track the case. Sgt. Curtis Phillip said the crime appeared to be a robbery and said the clerk did not seem to get a real chance to comply. Phillip told reporters the attack was especially troubling because, based on the investigation, the victim was shot before he could respond to any demand.
Police say the second attack followed early Saturday, June 22, at the Fox Fuel station in the 8600 block of Lake June Road in Dallas’ Pleasant Grove area. Dallas police said officers were called at about 12:30 a.m. to a shooting and found Dasari critically wounded after a gunman entered the business, approached the counter, shot him and stole merchandise. Dasari was taken to a hospital, but Dallas police said the department was notified June 23 that he had died from his injuries. That death changed the case posture. Police first arrested Mathis on a robbery allegation in the Dallas case, then obtained a capital murder warrant after Dasari died, according to the department’s public account.
By the time officers moved to stop the suspect vehicle later that same morning, investigators say they already had evidence linking Mathis to the store shootings. News reports citing the affidavit said he used a stolen truck and a gun he claimed to have bought illegally for $400 from a man on the street. Less than an hour after the Dallas shooting, authorities said, officers tried to stop him and a pursuit ended in Mesquite with his arrest. Court and police accounts cited by local outlets say Mathis told detectives he also considered killing himself during the chase but said he could not find the gun. Police have not publicly laid out every piece of physical evidence in detail, but officials have said surveillance, the vehicle and the use of stolen tickets all played roles in the case.
The affidavit details reported by local television stations added another grim element to the Mesquite killing. According to those reports, Mathis told investigators he shot Hussain because of how the clerk looked and because he assumed the man would not cooperate. Mesquite Sgt. Phillip said investigators could not fully explain the suspect’s thinking, but he said the behavior described in the records showed extreme violence and a lack of remorse. Those statements became a major focus of coverage because they suggested the shooting was not the result of a struggle that got out of hand, but an immediate act of violence tied to robbery. Authorities have not, at least in the public summaries released at the time, announced any separate hate-crime enhancement or additional bias-based charge tied to that statement.
The case also carried heavy personal consequences for both victims’ families and communities. Hussain, 60, was identified by police as a Carrollton man working at the Mesquite store. Dasari, 32, was identified by Dallas police after the Lake June Road shooting, and coverage in Texas and Indian media drew attention to his background and the shock felt by relatives after his death. In Dallas, the killing also shook workers in a neighborhood where overnight clerks often work alone behind counters and depend on cameras, locked doors and routine to get through late shifts. The back-to-back nature of the robberies raised pressure on investigators to determine whether there had been other crimes involving the same suspect.
Authorities said Mathis, from Waco, was being held on multimillion-dollar bond after his arrest. Local reports at the time described a $7.5 million bond, while CBS Texas later reported a higher total bond amount tied to multiple felony counts, including capital murder, murder and evading arrest. That gap likely reflects evolving charges after both departments and prosecutors sorted the two cases and the chase allegation. What remained consistent across reports was the central accusation: police say one man robbed two gas stations, shot two clerks and left one family grieving in Mesquite and another in Dallas within a little more than 24 hours. Investigators also said they were still checking whether Mathis could be tied to other robberies or crimes.
At the center of the case were ordinary objects that became key evidence: lottery tickets, surveillance video, a stolen vehicle and a handgun police say was bought outside legal channels. Officers said Mathis was seen cashing stolen tickets in Hillsboro, north of Waco, after the Mesquite killing. That detail gave the story a plain, brutal logic that police and reporters returned to repeatedly. Phillip said it was hard to understand why anyone would act with that level of violence, but he said the facts described by investigators spoke for themselves. The image left by the records was of two workers on routine shifts and a suspect who, police say, treated both stores as places to grab cash value fast, no matter the human cost.
The criminal cases were still in their early stages when the affidavits became public. Dallas police said the Lake June Road homicide remained under investigation under case number 095920-2024. Prosecutors would be expected to decide how to move the murder and capital murder counts through court, whether to seek indictment on all allegations and how to handle evidence gathered in two cities. Public records summarized in news coverage did not answer every question, including whether prosecutors would pursue the death penalty, whether additional charges could be added and whether any competency or mental health issues would become part of the defense. Those decisions typically come later as grand jury review, motions and hearings unfold.
For now, the official picture is stark. Police say two clerks were killed in separate robberies, the suspect confessed, and key parts of the alleged motive centered on stolen lottery tickets and the search for money to rent an apartment. The next major milestones would come in court as prosecutors formalize charges and defense lawyers begin challenging the state’s account.
Author note: Last updated March 19, 2026.