Capital murder trial begins in Bedford clerk's killing

FORT WORTH -- Testimony began Tuesday morning in the capital murder trial of Fredrick Hughes, 39, one of three men accused of robbing and killing a Bedford store clerk last summer.

Hughes is accused of waiting in a gold Suburban while his cousins, Jeffrey Dodson and Theodis Dodson, went into the D&S Food Mart, prosecutors said in their opening statement.

Jeffrey Dodson is accused of shooting the clerk, Gaurab Rajbanshi, 28. Dodson’s brother, Theodis, pleaded guilty to capital murder in March and was sentenced to life in prison.

Hughes wore a dark pinstripe suit and shifted in his seat when the prosecution projected a picture of Rajbanshi onto a large screen opposite the jury and State District Judge Sharen Wilson of Criminal District Court No. 1.

Prosecutor Tiffany Burks told the jury that Rajbanshi, nicknamed Paco, as a college student from Nepal who had worked at the food mart for two years.

Defense attorneys made no opening statement.

After prosecution witnesses took the stand, jury members were shown exhibits including surveillance footage that showed two men walking into the store wearing ball caps and T-shirts and Rajbanshi being shot.

The jury also viewed photos of the crime scene.