A Haitian man accused of killing a convenience store clerk with a hammer in Fort Myers, Florida, faces deportation after being charged with second-degree murder and criminal mischief.
Police identified the suspect as Rolbert Joachin, 40, and said the attack happened on Apr. 2 at a gas station on Palm Beach Boulevard. Investigators said Joachin approached Nilufa Easmin outside the store, struck her once with the object in his hand, and then hit her six more times on her head and torso, leaving her with fatal injuries.
Witnesses told police they saw a man hitting a car and then attacking a woman with what officers described as a mallet, according to the arrest report. Fort Myers police said Joachin was identified after an extensive coordinated search and arrested later that day, according to CNN.
Authorities said police received a call at 7:19 a.m., and when officers arrived, Easmin was not responsive. She was later pronounced dead, according to reports.
Authorities said Easmin was working at the store when the attack occurred. Reports based on police accounts said the two had crossed paths before, though they were not personally known to each other.
Joachin was arrested after the attack and later described by federal immigration officials as a Haitian national living in the United States illegally. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents assisted Fort Myers police in tracking him down, according to the Department of Homeland Security, CBS News reported.
Court records and local reporting say Joachin is being held in Lee County Jail. Prosecutors have not yet said whether they will seek a harsher penalty, and the investigation remains open as detectives continue to review the circumstances of the killing.
Easmin was a mother, and reports said her family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover expenses tied to her death. She was also described in the reporting as an immigrant from Bangladesh, as per Gulf Coast News Now.
Originally published on Lawyer Herald
