A Leesburg jury has rendered a guilty verdict in the case against Alex Lopez, the man charged with the fatal shooting of a local store clerk during a robbery in 2024. Lopez, 25, was found guilty on counts of first-degree murder and armed robbery, with the sentence leading to life without the possibility of parole. This conclusion came after a trial that detailed the events leading to the death of Raied "Ray" Shihadeh, aged 51, behind the counter of Fast Stop Superette.
The report by Click Orlando stated that on May 29, 2024, Shihadeh, was on a FaceTime call with his wife when he was suddenly shot. According to his widow's testimony, "We were on a call, and all of a sudden he dropped the phone, and I heard him scream, no, no. I kept calling for him." The defense claimed that although Lopez was involved, his wife did not see him pull the trigger. However, it also emerged that Lopez had evaded police for weeks before being captured near Kissimmee on June 26, 2024.
Lopez, who chose not to testify at the trial, had his family members entangled in the aftermath, with his mother and sister being arrested for allegedly helping him hide from the authorities. His girlfriend, Kaili E. Dupuis, also faced charges after turning herself in following the arrests of Lopez's mother and sister. The jury's unanimous decision highlights the severity of the crime and the collected evidence presented by the state.
A separate account by WESH describes the crime scene where police found Shihadeh struggling for life with multiple gunshot wounds. In a heart-wrenching court testimony, his widow recounted the terrifying moments on their video call, "I said, 'Please pick up the phone, what is going on?' And there was nothing." Monique Shihadeh saw a blur pass across the screen during the attack, and to eventually hear nothing more from her husband, prompting her to desperately call 911.
The loss reverberates through the family, leaving behind five children and a community that remembers Shihadeh as a hard worker and a committed family man. The trial, which began on Monday, swiftly moved to a conclusion when prosecutors affirmed their decision not to seek the death penalty, instead securing a life sentence for Lopez.
