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A man who entered the U.S. illegally from Haiti and murdered a Fort Myers store clerk will face the death penalty, prosecutors said.
State Attorney Amira Fox announced Thursday that a Lee County grand jury returned an indictment against Rolbert Joachin, 40, in connection with the April 2 killing of Nilufa Easmın, a 51-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh, at a gas station in Fort Myers, Florida.
According to prosecutors, Joachin is accused of attacking the victim outside a gas station, striking her repeatedly in the head with a hammer and killing her.
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Surveillance video captured the assault, which showed the victim being repeatedly struck in the head with a hammer after confronting the suspect for smashing her car window. Authorities described the video as “extremely brutal and incredibly violent.”
A man accused of fatally bludgeoning a Fort Myers store clerk with a hammer has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty. (TruthSocial/@realDonaldTrump)
Investigators say Joachin fled the scene following the attack, prompting a citywide search before Fort Myers police located and arrested him.
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“This crime was so violent, so extreme, so unwarranted. It is something that once seen, is never to be forgotten. I want to thank the Lee County Grand Jury who watched and reviewed the gruesome evidence in this case and gave their full attention. I know it was not easy. This defendant entered the United States illegally and brutally ended the life of a mother simply at her job, working to provide for her family,” State Attorney Fox said.
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“He will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. We will seek the death penalty in this case,” Fox said.
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Split of Rolbert Joachim surveillance photo and mugshot. (Fort Myers Police Department)
President Donald Trump condemned the violent video, and blasted the Biden administration for releasing the suspect in 2022.
“An Illegal Alien Criminal from Haiti, who was released into our Country by the WORST President in History, Crooked Joe Biden, and the Radical Democrats in Congress, just beat an innocent woman to death with a hammer at a gas station in Florida,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “The video of her brutal slaying is one of the most vicious things you will ever see.
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“This one killing should be enough for these Radical Judges to STOP impeding my Administration’s Immigration Policies, and allow us to END THIS SCAM ONCE AND FOR ALL,” he added.
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Joachim first entered the U.S. in August 2022, and was released into the country under former President Joe Biden, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
A federal judge later issued a final order of removal against Joachim, but he was granted Temporary Protected Status, which Trump has described as “a massively abused and fraudulent program.” He has also blamed what he called “radical liberal district court judges” for blocking efforts by his administration to end it.
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While a federal judge issued a final order of removal against him, Joachim was reportedly granted Temporary Protected Status, a program Trump called “massively abused and fraudulent” and difficult to eliminate due to Democratic support.
The suspect then remained in the country after his status expired in 2024.
Fox News’ Alexandra Koch and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.