A man who unlawfully entered the U.S. from Haiti and fatally attacked a store clerk in Fort Myers now faces the death penalty, as announced by prosecutors.
State Attorney Amira Fox revealed on Thursday that a grand jury in Lee County has indicted Rolbert Hoachin, 40, for the murder of 51-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant Nilfa Easmin, which occurred on April 2 at a gas station in Fort Myers, Florida.
According to prosecutors, Hoachin allegedly attacked the victim outside the gas station, striking her multiple times on the head with a hammer.
Surveillance footage documented the brutal assault, showing the victim being hit repeatedly after confronting Hoachin, who had broken a car window. Authorities described the video as “extremely gory and incredibly violent.”
Following the attack, investigators noted that Hoachin fled the scene, prompting a city-wide manhunt until Fort Myers police located and arrested him.
“This crime was so violent, so extreme, so unjust. Once you see it, you’ll never forget it. I want to thank the Lee County Grand Jury for closely examining the gruesome evidence in this case. We know it wasn’t easy. This defendant illegally entered the U.S. and brutally took the life of a mother simply trying to support her family,” Fox stated.
Fox emphasized that the prosecution would seek the maximum penalty, stating, “He will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. We seek the death penalty in this case.”
Former President Donald Trump condemned the violent incident and accused the Biden administration of having released the suspect in 2022.
In a Truth Social post, Trump stated, “An illegal alien criminal from Haiti who was released into our country by the worst president in history, crooked Joe Biden, and radical Democrats in Congress, just bludgeoned an innocent woman to death with a hammer at a gas station in Florida. The video of her brutal murder is one of the most vicious I have ever seen.”
He added, “This one killing should be enough to allow radical judges to stop interfering with our administration’s immigration policies and end this fraud once and for all.”
Hoachin first entered the country in August 2022 and was released under the Biden administration, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
While a federal judge later ordered his removal, there were claims that he was granted temporary protective custody, which Trump criticized as a “massively exploited and fraudulent program.” He also pointed fingers at “radical liberal district court judges” for stalling efforts to change the situation.
Despite the federal removal order, Hoachin remained in the country even after his protective status expired in 2024.
