Leesburg murder suspect accused of killing store clerk will not face death penalty
Leesburg murder suspect will not face death penalty
The man accused of killing a Leesburg, Florida, store clerk during a robbery earlier this year will not face the death penalty. Alex Lopez is charged with fatally shooting Raied Shihadeh inside the M&M Food Mart while the clerk was on FaceTime with his wife. Prosecutors did not disclose the reasons behind their decision not to pursue the death penalty.
ORLANDO, Fla. - The man accused of killing a Leesburg, Florida, store clerk during a robbery earlier this year will not face the death penalty.
Alex Lopez, 25, of Wildwood, is charged with fatally shooting Raied Shihadeh, 55, inside the M&M Food Mart while the clerk was on FaceTime with his wife. The incident occurred on May 30, his daughter’s 16th birthday.
"He was there working hard for his family," his wife Monique Shihadeh said in an earlier interview with FOX 35. "And this scum of the earth came in and took him from us."
Shortly after the shooting, surveillance video showed a man walking into the convenience store and allegedly shooting the clerk several times before hopping over the counter and eventually leaving the store. Photos of the man were posted to social media and online, resulting in several people coming forward and identifying Lopez as the accused shooter.
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Lopez was arrested about a month after the deadly shooting.
According to police, the first tip came from a Wildwood police officer who had interacted with Lopez numerous times. A second tip came from a woman who knew Lopez and identified him as the shooter to the Wildwood Police Department. A third tip came from Lopez's cousin, who positively identified Lopez as the shooter. He told police he saw the social media post about Lopez and "immediately recognized the suspect as his cousin," a probable cause document shows.
A Sumter County Sheriff's Office correctional officer also told police the man in the surveillance video was Lopez. He told police that Lopez had been in custody a few months before and had interacted with the officer several times, police said.
Lopez had previously been arrested for property crimes and was released from jail back in February. He also has a prior conviction for robbery, records show. He is facing several charges following the death of Shihadeh, which include premeditated murder, armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and using a weapon during a felony.
Prosecutors did not disclose the reasons behind their decision not to pursue the death penalty.