Gas Station Attack Suspect Headed To Trial

The man accused of attacking a gas station clerk with a hammer late last year is now headed to trial.

21-year-old Navjot Singh of Battle Creek was in Calhoun County District Court Wednesday, charged with armed robbery and attempted murder.  Prosecutors say that Singh entered the Citgo station in the 400 block of Capital Avenue NE in the early hours of December 28, and spilled coffee in the back.  When the clerk attempted to clean it up, Singh allegedly struck him repeatedly with a claw hammer before stealing money from the register and fleeing.

The victim, Rohid Makhija, needed dozens of stitches but did survive.

Singh then fled the scene in the cab of Scott Carrigan, who had lent the hammer used in the attack.  Carrigan testified that he called police when he found out about the robbery.  Singh fled Michigan, ultimately being arrested in the New York Metro Area in February.

If convicted, Singh faces life in prison.