Lanyard, Cell Phone Key Evidence in Gas Station Homicide Case

Nayyear Rana was working toward the American Dream.

After being laid off at a previous job, Rana took a job at the Broadway Petro Mart gas station working third shift. 

The Pakistani immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 2008 was known by his family to carry keys on a UW-Madison lanyard and his cell phone while he was at work.    

A third-shift gas station clerk isn’t an ideal job for everyone, but Rana was chasing a dream, his daughter Mehwish Rana, 26, a UW-Madison graduate, testified on Friday.    

“He was doing it for experience so they could buy their own,” Mehwish Rana said.    

Rana never saw that dream come to fruition. He was gunned down in a convenience store robbery on May 29, 2012.    

His keys and cell phone would become a key piece of evidence as prosecutors build a case against 21-year-old Billy Ingram. Ingram, a convicted felon who was on probation at the time of the homicide, was found in Brookfield a day later. The keys and cell phone were located by Elm Grove officers inside a bag that had Ingram’s credit card, according to court testimony and documents.    

A multi-day trial against Ingram on homicide and robbery charges began this week. His defense attorneys allege Ingram didn’t know the items were stolen in a fatal robbery.    

Prosecutors believe Ingram went shopping at Bayshore Mall after the robbery, spending money on a $90 skateboard and other items. Nearly $1,000, snacks, cigars and other items were stolen from the gas station during the robbery.    

But defense attorneys are arguing that investigators excluded Ingram’s cousin, who owned the gun, as a suspect too quickly. The gun was purchased by the cousin, who was allowing Ingram to stay at his Jackson Court apartment, on May 12.    

The Waukesha Police Department’s tactical team cleared the apartment while executing a search warrant on May 30, 2012. The cousin was home and taken into custody while officers searched the home and located the gun.    

Two detectives testified Friday that the cousin was shocked to learn that his gun was the suspected weapon.    

“(He) was more adamant that he had nothing to do with this,” said Detective Daniel Neumann said in court.    

Detective Tim Probst had a similar statement about his interaction with Ingram’s cousin.  

“He was upset, in disbelief,” Probst said.    

The homicide trial will continue Monday. The Waukesha County District Attorney’s office expects to finish with its witnesses on Wednesday. The defense has an opportunity to offer witnesses after the state concludes its case.