1994 Popeyes murders
# 1994 Popeyes murders

On April 15, 1994, three employees were shot and killed and a fourth employee was seriously injured at a Popeyes restaurant in Gadsden, Alabama. The perpetrators, Robert Bryant Melson (June 5, 1971 – June 8, 2017) and Cuhuatemoc Hinricky Peraita (born May 19, 1976), robbed the restaurant of over $2,100, led the four employees into a freezer, and then shot all four of them.

Melson was sentenced to death for the crime and Peraita received a life sentence; however, he was later sentenced to death for killing another inmate in prison. Melson was executed in 2017 and Peraita remains on death row.

## Murders

On the night of April 15, 1994, Melson and Peraita entered a Popeyes restaurant in east Gadsden through the back door of the building after employee Darrell K. Collier unlocked it to allow fellow employees Nathaniel Baker and Bryant Archer to take out the trash. Upon entry, Melson and Peraita ordered Archer, Baker, Collier, and another employee, Tamika Collins, into the restaurant's office and demanded that they empty the safe. They complied, after which Melson ordered the group to get inside the restaurant's freezer. Shortly after locking them in the freezer, Melson unlocked the door and opened fire. Baker, Collier, and Collins all died of their wounds before paramedics arrived. Archer was shot four times, but he survived and was able to crawl to the restaurant's office to call 911.

## Legal proceedings

Melson was convicted of his role in the crime, was sentenced to death on May 17, 1996, and placed on death row under Alabama Department of Corrections ID 0000Z601. Peraita was sentenced to life without parole. He killed a fellow inmate on December 11, 1999, and was given a death sentence in October 2001. Melson had two execution dates set in 2010, both of which were stayed. On April 5, 2017, Melson had an execution date set for June 8, 2017. He received a temporary stay from an appellate court on June 2, but the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the stay on June 6 without comment. At 5:45 p.m. on the night of the execution, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary stay so Justice Clarence Thomas could review Melson's appeals. The stay was later lifted and the execution began at 9:55 p.m. Melson was pronounced dead at 10:27 p.m.

