Liberty was shocked to learn of the death of a local convenience store owner on Christmas Day as he worked in his store, Ridgewood Happy Chap Grocery, located on North Main (Highway 146) just north of Liberty. A customer found the body of 51-year-old Naushad Virani at approximately 10:10 p.m. and made a 9-1-1 call on Christmas evening lying in a pool of blood. Virani had apparently been shot earlier in the evening with a gunshot wound in the head.. Liberty Police Officers viewed the surveillance tapes, which showed the suspect as 31-year-old White Supremacist Stevie Walder. He was captured on Sunday, December 27, 2009 in a traffic stop in Woodville in Tyler County. At the time of his arrest, Stevie R. “Bubba” Walder reportedly admitted to the store owner’s killing and stated that had he not seen the police officers were white, would have gunned them down as well. Walder was also wanted on a warrant out of Harris County for assault on a family member in August. Walder was transported back to the Liberty County Jail and so far has been uncooperative with authorities. He remains in the Liberty County Jail under a $2 million dollar bond. Walder is reportedly a member of the Arian Brotherhood and even though the initial investigation showed robbery was the main motive, investigators are now looking into the possibility of it being a ‘hate’ crime’, according to Liberty Police Public Information Officer Hugh Bishop. A candlelight vigil was conducted on Saturday, December 26. Funeral services for Veronna were held on Tuesday, December 29, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. at South Park Funeral Home in Pearland. Walder has been charged with Capital Murder, as investigation continues. Bishop states that if the District Attorney’s office declares that this was also a ‘hate crime’ that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may be brought in to investigate.