A Florida jury convicted a 26-year-old man of first-degree murder and armed robbery on Wednesday, after the victim’s widow testified that she was on FaceTime with her husband when he was shot.
Alex Lopez was found guilty of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm in the 2024 killing of 51-year-old Raied Shihadeh, according to a press release from the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
Widow Describes Hearing Gunshots During Call
Monique Shihadeh testified Tuesday that she heard gunshots while speaking with her husband and immediately tried to understand what was happening, FOX 35 Orlando reported.
“I kept asking him, ‘What is happening? What’s going on?’ He never responded. He never said anything,” she testified, according to the outlet. “All of a sudden, I saw a blur pass across the screen and I screamed.”
She said she called 911 when he didn’t come back to the phone.
Why It Matters
Police found Raied Shihadeh inside the M & M Food Mart convenience store in Leesburg on May 30, 2024, suffering from gunshot wounds to the abdomen and head. He later died from his injuries. Investigators were told a robbery had occurred.
Bill Gladson, the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney, said in a statement that the verdict could not undo the loss but would ensure the killer would not be free again.
Defense attorney Mona Rosey Payne told Newsweek, “All I can say is we have to respect the jury’s verdict. This was a deeply tragic and unnecessary loss of life.”
What Investigators Say Happened
When Leesburg Police officers arrived at the M & M Food Mart on May 30, 2024, they found Shihadeh behind the front counter. He was airlifted to a hospital, where he died.
A witness told officers she walked into the store and heard screaming that seemed to be coming from a phone. Detectives later determined Shihadeh had been on a FaceTime call with his wife at the time.
Authorities said surveillance footage showed a man with his face covered enter the store with a firearm, shoot Shihadeh, then take money from the register and a vape product before running out.
During the investigation, officials released photos of the suspect in a public bulletin seeking help identifying him. Detectives said they received multiple tips naming Lopez as the suspect. He was arrested at the Sunshine Inn motel in Kissimmee on June 26, 2024.
In a statement, the state attorney’s office thanked law enforcement and the public for assisting in the case.
What People Are Saying
Bill Gladson, Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney, said in a statement: “Less than a hundred dollars is what this ruthless, wanna be thug valued over the victim’s life.”
Monique Shihadeh, in a statement cited by CBS12, said: “When someone walked in, they changed the trajectory of our lives not only for myself but for my children. I promise you today’s verdict was not a miscarriage of justice; it was the perfect carriage of justice.”
What Happens Next
Judge Brian Welke sentenced Lopez to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
