By Billy Davis

The $700 in cash Tareq “Eric” Abu-Athieh stuffed in a pants pocket the night he was killed was payment to an immigration attorney in Memphis, his cousin said Monday.

“He was planning to go back to Jordan to see his family. The paperwork was almost done,” Ameen Abu-Athieh told The Panolian.  

Ameen, 41, also said his cousin was set to take a U.S. Citizenship Test on September 20. He was killed September 17 in a robbery outside a Sardis convenience store.

Tareq Abu-Athieh, known locally as “Eric,” was a native of Jordan, where he left behind family members to come to the United States. He was 35.

Panola Sheriff Dennis Darby said last week investigators have charged Dewayne Walton, 18, and Marcus Thomas, 19, for capital murder following Abu-Athieh’s death. Both suspects have confessed to the crime, he said.  

Investigators believe a video camera shows Walton, hidden beneath a shirt wrapped around his face, shooting Tareq Abu-Athieh with a .380 pistol. The gunman then turned to shoot a store employee identified by Memphis media as Roosevelt Coley, who has been released from The Med.

Authorities allege Thomas was barely visible in the video as he removed the cash from Abu-Athieh’s pocket.

Ameen said Monday he appreciated law enforcement for pursuing their investigation and singled out Darby for talking to him frequently in the hours after the shooting.

“I was in the cemetery when Sheriff Darby called to tell me about the arrests,” the cousin recalled.

Ameen Abu-Athieh and his relatives own and operate a string of convenience stores in Sardis and Como. Ameen operates the Stop and Shop store near Como.

Authorities have said one of the suspects once worked at the Sardis store. Ameen identified that person as Thomas and said he owed Eric money from a loan.

Eric worked at the Sardis store for a relative who bought the business from Ameen in 2011, he said.  

Ameen said Eric’s mother was hospitalized after learning of her son’s death, and his father was told at first his son had been hurt. When finally told of the death, the father is having a difficult time, too.

Ameen said Tareq is survived by two daughters, ages 7 and 9.

Asked about support from the community, Ameen said he’s humbled by the outpouring of sympathy — phone calls, personal visits and testmonies on Facebook — after the death of his cousin.

“People in Mississippi, they make you feel like family,” he said. “Please tell everybody thank you. I wish peace to everybody.”