The same day the public defender for a transient Fort Myers man accused in the brutal public murder of a store clerk asked for his release from jail, state prosecutors filed official charges
Court records show that Assistant State Attorney Hamid Hunter on May 4 filed criminal mischief and second-degree murder charges against Rolbert Joachin, 40.
Fort Myers Police arrested Joachin on April 2 in the death of a 51-year-old woman. Court documents have identified the victim by the name “Easmin.”
Joachin’s public defender, Jay Brizel, on May 4 filed a motion requesting Joachin’s release on his own recognizance, arguing that Joachin has been incarcerated for 30 days and that state prosecutors had not formally filed charges in the case before he filed his motion.
The motion sought Joachin’s release by the 33rd day, May 5, unless the state files charges by that date.
Around 7 a.m. April 2, Fort Myers Police officers responded to the D & D convenience store at 3500 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. after several witnesses reported a man damaged an SUV and, when confronted, bludgeoned the vehicle’s owner, a clerk at the store, to death.
Passersby captured the incident on video.
According to officials, Joachin confessed he went “specifically to kill the victim” and wore the same clothes as the day prior so that she would recognize him.
Joachin is next due in court May 11.
Fort Myers D&D convenience store owner says clerk was mom of 2
The owner and landlord of the D & D store where the bludgeoning happened told a Bangladeshi news outlet that on the eve of the slaying Joachin attempted to withdraw cash from an ATM, and after he failed, he demanded cash from the clerk.
The owner also shared that the clerk is a mother who has two daughters, one who is a student at a university in Tallahassee and one who works at a different gas station in Fort Myers.
The morning after the clerk told Joachin that the store does not own the ATM and that she would be unable to give him any cash, Joachin showed up and began to damage the windshield of her car.
Joachin remains in custody without bond.
Immigration status in question for Fort Myers convenience store murder suspect
During Joachin’s pretrial detention hearing on April 8, Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner asked Fort Myers Police Detective Laynor Rodriguez about Joachin’s immigration status.
Rodriguez said Joachin is in the U.S. “illegally on a temporary protected status.”
Federal immigration authorities have since placed a detainer on Joachin.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@usatodayco.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: State files charges in brutal murder after public defender’s motion
Reporting by Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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