Greensboro man charged with killing Speedway employee could face death penalty

By Justin Shrair

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    GREENSBORO, North Carolina (WXII) — UPDATE: Avion Bell just celebrated his 19th birthday on July 5, but on Thursday of the same week, he found himself in court for his first appearance for the murder charge he now faces. Judge Tonia Cutchin opted to hold Bell without bond.

The district attorney’s office in court said Bell tried to rob the Speedway convenience store with a stolen pistol in the early morning of July 1. In the process, police say, Bell shot and killed 72-year-old Patricia Grant.

“What that surveillance video picked up, was that heavy-coated individual [believed to be Bell] pulling out a gun and pointing it at our victim, Ms. Grant, presumably demanding cash,” the prosecutor said. “The individual that was in the bathroom heard her say ‘no,’ a shot being fired and her saying, ‘Help me! Help me!’”

The prosecutor says Bell is known to be affiliated with a gang. The DA’s office said police K9 units quickly tracked Bell back to his home where officers found a cellphone and the gun they believe was used to kill Grant in a drainage ditch.

“They recovered the distinctive shoes that he wore, the coat, everything. They also recovered social media footage of Mr. Bell in the outfit he had on at the time of the murder with the same murder weapon waving it around,” the prosecutor said.

Bell is charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a stolen firearm

This isn’t Bell’s first run-in with the law. According to court documents obtained by WXII 12 News, in early 2019 when Bell was just 16 years old, he was on juvenile probation and was then arrested for assaulting a school employee and common law robbery. And in April of that year, Bell pled guilty to robbery with a dangerous weapon after using a handgun to rob a woman of her car, purse and phone.

Original Story

Police have arrested a man for the murder of a gas station employee that happened in Greensboro on July 1.

Avion Bell, 19, was arrested for the murder of Patricia Grant, 72. Grant was a manager at the Speedway on Battleground Avenue.

Bell was charged with first-degree murder, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a stolen firearm and robbery with a dangerous weapon.

He’s being held at the Guilford County Jail without bond.

Police said they responded to the Speedway, located at 2834 Battleground Avenue, just after 6 a.m. July 1 in reference to an aggravated assault.

Officers said they found Grant suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound. She was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries later that day.

WXII 12 News spoke with Avery Courter. Grant was his coworker and manager.

Courter said while he closes up the gas station at night, Grant was the one who would open it up in the mornings.

“She was very nice. She treated her coworkers pretty well, she would like, she was nice is pretty much the best way to describe it,” he said.

Avery said his coworker was one of a kind.

“She would treat her new coworkers really well, in particular, to like, buy them a drink for their first shift,” he said.

Police said they also served a search warrant at a home off of Marthas Place in Greensboro near the gas station but would not say how it was connected.

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