Wire tampering

BP gas station shooting suspects 16 Gallery: BP gas station shooting suspects

, a getaway car borrowed from two suspects' mother, swapped license plates and shared cash are among new allegations to emerge in court documents in the homicide earlier this month of a Phillipsburg gas station attendant.

The four people charged with the murder and armed robbery of BP gas station attendant Kismathdas Kasam, on Jan. 5 at 742 S. Main St. in Phillipsburg made their first appearance Wednesday in state Superior Court in Belvidere.

All four suspects appeared via video from the Warren County jail, where they are held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Alexis Flowers, 21, Zachary Dean Flowers, 18, Andrew R. Torres, 22, all of Allentown, and David Beagell, 21, of Blakeslee, Pa., are scheduled to have a post-indictment hearing in March, when they will enter pleas. All four have applied for public defenders.

New details emerge in the police criminal complaint of the alleged plot to hold up the BP and the suspects' alleged attempts to evade arrest before all were taken into custody last week.

According to the affidavit:

A friend of Zachary Flowers provided the tip to police that led to the arrest of the four suspects. The friend told investigators Zachary Flowers and Torres had saved money to buy a double-barrel shotgun. After they obtained the gun, Alexis Flowers said in sworn testimony, the four decided to rob a Phillipsburg gas station.

Alexis Flowers, who is Zachary Flowers’ older sister and Torres’ girlfriend, drove the four to the gas station in a car belonging to her and Zachary Flowers' mother, Michelle Flowers. Alexis Flowers dropped her brother and Torres off at the gas station. Beagell stayed in the car, Alexis Flowers said.

The two approached Kasam and demanded money. Even though the attendant was complying with Torres' demands, Torres fired a shot at the attendant’s right leg, the friend said.

The two suspects grabbed about $500 and were seen by witnesses, who had heard the gunshot, jogging from the area of the BP up Limekiln Road toward Andover Street. The two hid in a wooded area where Zachary Flowers phoned Alexis Flowers, who with Beagell came and picked the two up and drove to Pennsylvania.

The four are charged with felony murder, armed robbery and unlawful possession of a weapon, among other crimes. Torres faces an additional murder charge because police say he fired the gun.

The murder charges carry sentences of 30 years to life in prison upon conviction.