Store owner remembered as “beautiful man”

Mainank Patel, known affectionately as Mike, had run the Tobacco House on Airport Road for a number of years, according to employees, and everyone in the community liked him.

According to several people at the store Wednesday morning, Patel and his wife have one child with another on the way, and tended to treat everyone like family.

On Tuesday morning about 11:18, a juvenile male entered the store and, for an as-yet unknown reason, shot Patel several times before running. Patel was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries.

Customers who were at the store or who came by and saw deputies at the scene and stopped said they didn’t want to leave. They didn’t know what else to do, but were so fond of Mike and his family that they felt compelled to stay.

Jessica Hagerman, who has worked at the store for about a year and a half, said that the family prefers to keep any arrangements private at this time, but she said anyone who wants to bring flowers or tributes to the store is welcome to do so.

“If anyone wants to make a donation to the family they can bring that here as well, we are open,” she said. Another customer is planning to create a large card that anyone can sign that will also be given to the family.

Javier Lopez has been cutting the grass at the store for years, even before Patel took over from his cousin, Lopez said, and the Patel family “treated everyone like family. I just saw him yesterday morning, and on my way home from work, I saw the police and stopped to see what had happened.

“There are just no words to describe how great a guy Mike was,” he continued. “He was just a beautiful man.” He added that the Patels have one young child and another on the way.

“He was a super good man, good to his customers, loved his family and would have helped anyone,” said Patricia Howard, another regular customer at the store.

At this time the business is open and is expected to remain so. A juvenile was arrested Tuesday evening, Aug. 13 but no additional details have been released on any possible charges as yet.

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