HAZLETON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A Luzerne County man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday in relation to the death of a store clerk.
This comes after a robbery in December 2020 in which a 50-year-old employee of Craig's Food Mart in Hazleton, Ashokkumar Patel, was fatally shot.
Burglar removes air conditioner to break into home
Security cameras at the store captured Jafet Rodriguez committing the crime. Patel was mopping when Rodriguez rushed into the store wearing a mask, shoved Patel into a closet and shot him.
The security camera footage showed a bloody Patel crawling out of the closet to call 911. He died a short time later due to his injuries.
The footage also shows Rodriguez robbing the counter and leaving with a bank bag.
Jafet Rodriguez was sentenced on first degree homicide charges in relation to the crime and now faces life in prison without parole. He was also sentenced to seven to 15 years in prison on robbery charges.
