2 Teen-Agers Held in Fatal Shooting of 7-Eleven Clerk : Investigation: Older of the two is charged with murder and armed robbery. Victim had brought family from India.

Police have arrested two teen-age males suspected of fatally shooting a 7-Eleven clerk last month during a robbery that was captured on the store’s video camera and publicized throughout Southern California.

Police Chief Steven Staveley said Noel Uriel Vargas Jr., 18, of Norwalk has been charged with murder and armed robbery. Prosecutors could seek the death penalty.

Police also arrested a 15-year-old juvenile they suspect was Vargas’ accomplice, although he has yet to be charged, they said.

The publicity surrounding the Aug. 21 killing of Nirmal Singh of Fullerton, a 44-year-old father of three, brought hundreds of tips, including one that led police to Vargas, Staveley said during a news conference Thursday.

La Habra police arrested Vargas near his home on Sept. 4. It was not immediately known why they waited more than two weeks to announce the arrest.

The juvenile was arrested at the La Habra police station Tuesday. Police would not say why he was at the station.

The videotape showed two young men entering the Imperial Highway store about 3 a.m. As the juvenile asked to make a purchase, Vargas pulled a handgun and shot Singh in the chest.

The juvenile then jumped over the counter and took between $45 and $60 from the cash register, said Lt. Wayne Lowry.

The killing happened less than 10 seconds after the two approached the counter. Staveley said it appears they never gave Singh a chance to turn over the money.

Many residents who called the police hot line to offer tips said they were shocked at the brutality of the crime.

“Folks could not believe that someone could be so cold-blooded and brutal as is depicted on the tape,” Staveley said. “They were very concerned that in their community such a crime could take place. Folks were simply outraged.”

Police said in August that they had forensic evidence, including fingerprints from the crime scene, but they declined Thursday to say what evidence they have against the two. Staveley said police have not yet recovered the gun used in the murder.

“But there’s no doubt in my mind that we have the two right people,” Staveley said. “The totality of the investigation shows we absolutely have the right individuals and we are prepared to show that in court.”

Lowry said at least a dozen La Habra police investigators worked on the case and that Vargas surfaced as a prime suspect within two weeks of the killing. Police waited to make the arrest to build a stronger case, he said.

Staveley said the killing still is under investigation, and hinted there may be other suspects.

“If there are other individuals involved, we want them before the bar, too,” he said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Elizabeth Henderson, who will handle the cases, said the district attorney has not decided whether to pursue the death penalty against Vargas.

“It’s obviously a great development that the suspects were located by the La Habra police so quickly,” Henderson said. “It was pretty good police work.”

Vargas appeared Sept. 6 in North Orange County Municipal Court in Fullerton for arraignment but the hearing was postponed to Sept. 28, Henderson said.

Singh, from India’s northern Punjab region, had come to Orange County 2 1/2 years ago in search of a better life for his family, including his children, now 12, 7 and 5, family members have said.

Singh had been working at the store only two weeks when he was killed. When he was hired, his wife, Baljit Kaur, had warned him against working the night shift, but relatives said he volunteered to work the shift that night to impress his boss.

On Thursday, Kaur was surrounded by family members who wept at the news of the arrests. While she was glad to hear of them, she said, “I am still alone. My husband is still gone.”

Jaspal, 12, her eldest son, said only, “I miss my father.”

Four days after the killing, Southland Corp., the franchiser of 7-Eleven stores, offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the two killers. Lowry said he believes no one has come forward yet to claim the reward.

*

Times staff writers Tina Nguyen and Anna Cekola contributed to this story.