# Two attempts to find him, then a killing

> Sacramento deputies had cause to arrest Rohit Rohit before he killed Shalini Thakur. They just never found him.
- Title: Two attempts to find him, then a killing · California Post
- Summary: Sacramento deputies had cause to arrest Rohit Rohit before he killed Shalini Thakur. They just never found him. A stalking case with a restraining order, a…
- Keywords: crime, sacramento, stalking, immigration, policing, news, entertainment, Two, attempts, find, him, killing
- Source: California Post — https://nypost.com/2026/09/12/us-news/deputies-had-probable-cause-to-arrest-migrant-before-sacramento-panera-killing
- Published: 2026-09-12T17:02:52+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: crime, sacramento, stalking, immigration, policing, news, entertainment
## Killed outside a Panera
Rohit Rohit, 22, an Indian national in the country illegally, shot 38-year-old Shalini Thakur on Tuesday outside a Panera Bread in Sacramento.
## They looked twice
After Thakur reported a restraining order violation, deputies and detectives made at least two attempts to find Rohit, including at places he was known to frequent. They never made contact.

> If we made contact with him, yeah, I am certain there would have been an arrest.
## No manhunt for this
Lt. Amar Gandhi said the office does not mount large-scale searches for a case like this one, though detectives do follow up.

> There's not going to be a massive, large-scale manhunt for this person.
## Filed as a misdemeanor
The alleged violation was a lower-level misdemeanor, so even an arrest might have ended in a citation. It was not classed as domestic violence because the two were never romantically involved.
## A year of escalation
He met her at the IHOP where she waited tables, delivering DoorDash orders. Then came death threats, an AirTag on her car, a copied house key, daily visits to her job, and slashed tires.
## Sanctuary limits and a 2023 release
California law restricted the sheriff's cooperation with federal immigration agents. DHS had arrested Rohit at the Arizona border in 2023 and released him on recognizance a month later.
## Her mother is alone
Sudesh Kumari says the paperwork never turned into protection. Sheriff Jim Cooper believes Rohit was heading somewhere else to hurt someone else when police stopped him.

> Restraining order after restraining order… police did not protect my daughter.
## Key takeaway

A stalking case with a restraining order, a tracker on her car and death threats was handled as a low-level misdemeanor, and the man was never located.