Gas Station Murder Suspect to Stand Trial

A Waukesha man and later caught in Brookfield carrying the victim’s cell phone, bloody money and a bullet casing will stand trial for the crime.

Billy Ingram, 20, was bound over for trial Thursday by Waukesha County Court Commissioner Thomas Pieper for allegedly shooting Nayyer Rana, 56, then taking money, coins, cigarettes and cigars from the gas station. He’s charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide, one count of armed robbery with use of force, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of possession of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

If convicted, he faces life in prison.

Detectives from the and patrol officers from the Brookfield and Elm Grove police departments gave two hours of testimony during a preliminary hearing Thursday linking Ingram to the May 29 murder.

According to investigators, Rana was shot three times by Ingram while working as a third-shift clerk at the gas station, then Ingram took nearly $1,000 in cash, along with Rana’s key lanyard and cell phone. Rana’s body was discovered around 5 a.m. May 30 and Ingram had been arrested in Brookfield after officers there were called to a suspected burglary and he was walking nearby holding a skateboard and plastic bag.

A gun used in the crime was traced back to an apartment where Ingram was living in with his cousin at 417 Jackson Court, several blocks south of the , along with a shell casing. Ingram’s fingerprints were also found on the gun, as were the prints of his cousin, who was working at the time of the incident.

Ingram’s cousin told officers he purchased the gun at and said Ingram had handled it once, but hand not shot it to his knowledge.

Rana had four wounds caused by three bullets. He was shot once in the abdomen, once in the shoulder, which also caused a wound to his hand, and once in the mouth, with the bullet breaking Rana’s teeth before lodging in his spine.

Prosecutors said there was muzzle burns on Rana’s body, which showed the injuries were made at close range.

An empty shell casing was found in Ingram’s pocket at the time he was arrested along with a large amount of money, which had blood stains on it. Brookfield police officer Jesse Hart, who interviewed and arrested Ingram, said Ingram told him he got the money from his bank account and said the shell casing was left from going to a shooting range with his cousin.  

Elm Grove officer Natalie Hudzinski also testified about finding a duffel bag and backpack around 1:35 a.m. May 30 near a Bluemound Road bus stop  with clothes in one of the bags and a large amount of coins, Newport cigarettes, Swisher Sweet cigars and the lanyard later traced back to Rana. She said Ingram’s credit card was also in the bag along with receipts made with the card for purchases.

Ingram’s attorney, Sam Benedict, argued the evidence only showed Ingram had some connection to the murder, but hadn’t necessarily shown he was the one to commit the crime.

However, Pieper disagreed, saying there was enough of a connection to proceed to trial.

Ingram will be arraigned Aug. 1