On March 17, 2017, 31-year-old Jose Cruz went to La Placita market on Morgantown Road in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to pick up his children from his ex-wife, who worked at the store. Two armed men had entered the market, locked the door and were demanding money while the children were inside. When Cruz entered and confronted one of the gunmen, a struggle ensued. As one robber briefly exited, the other returned and tried to strike Cruz with a pistol; during the fight Cruz was shot. First responders took him to a local hospital, where he later died. The children witnessed the entire incident.

Investigators linked the robbery and murder to a group responsible for at least a dozen violent robberies of small, often Hispanic-owned, stores across Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. Five people were charged in connection with Cruz’s killing: Johnny Alexander Relles-Martinez, José Adan Mejia Varela, Jorge Santos Caballero-Melgar, Lillian Duron and Estrellita Soto; Duron and Soto were reportedly inside the market shortly before the robbery. Does anyone have information about this case or remember seeing anything around La Placita on March 17, 2017?