Share and Follow
A man who unlawfully entered the United States from Haiti has been sentenced to the death penalty for the murder of a store clerk in Fort Myers, as confirmed by prosecutors.
On Thursday, State Attorney Amira Fox revealed that a Lee County grand jury had indicted 40-year-old Rolbert Joachin. The indictment pertains to the April 2 homicide of Nilufa Easmin, a 51-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh, at a Fort Myers gas station in Florida.
Prosecutors allege that Joachin attacked Easmin outside the gas station, repeatedly striking her on the head with a hammer, ultimately leading to her death.
The assault was captured on surveillance footage, which depicted the victim being viciously hit on the head multiple times with a hammer after she confronted Joachin for breaking her car window. The video has been described by authorities as “extremely brutal and incredibly violent.”
Following the attack, Joachin reportedly fled the scene, triggering a widespread search effort across the city. Fort Myers police later apprehended and arrested him.
“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.
“He will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. We will seek the death penalty in this case,” Fox said.
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.
“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.
Joachim first entered the US 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.
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.