Haitian Immigrant Charged with Hammer Murder at Florida Gas Station
A 40-year-old man from Haiti faces murder charges after allegedly beating a female gas station cashier to death with a hammer in Fort Myers, Florida.
Haitian Immigrant Charged with Hammer Murder at Florida Gas Station
A 40-year-old man faces murder charges after allegedly beating a female cashier to death with a hammer at a Fort Myers, Florida gas station on April 2.
Rolbert Joachin was taken into custody on the same day as the killing, according to lactualite.com. Police responded to a Chevron station following reports that a woman had been struck repeatedly with a hammer.
Upon arrival, officers discovered a woman lying on the ground with a bloodied face and multiple lacerations. They subsequently located Joachin walking nearby and detained him. Authorities stated that he confessed to the crime.
The victim was later identified as Nilufa Easmın, aged 51. A GoFundMe campaign organized by Samir Bahadur Syed, president of the Southwest Florida Bangladesh Association, described her as a devoted mother who worked tirelessly to support her two young daughters.
Surveillance footage released by the Department of Homeland Security shows a man in a yellow t-shirt and black shorts striking a black vehicle parked outside the station with a hammer. A woman wearing black pants and a pink t-shirt then exits the store and appears to question him. The man immediately approaches her and delivers a hammer blow to her head. After she collapses on the sidewalk, he strikes her head six additional times before stepping over her motionless body and walking away.
Joachin was charged with murder and property damage. He appeared in court on Wednesday, with his next hearing scheduled for May 4.
President Donald Trump shared the surveillance video on his Truth Social account Thursday evening, describing the killing as one of the most horrible things imaginable and calling the suspect an animal. He highlighted the man's Haitian origin and blamed former President Joe Biden for granting him temporary protected status that allowed him to remain in the United States.
Kelei Walker, acting director of the Miami ICE field office, stated at a Friday press conference that Joachin arrived near Key West, Florida by boat in August 2022. He was arrested and granted temporary protected status in 2023, which was revoked this week.
Studies have shown that undocumented immigrants in the United States are less likely than U.S. citizens to be arrested for violent, drug-related, or property crimes.
Source: Google News HT — Crime