LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Testimony began Tuesday in the murder trial of a man accused of fatally shooting a Leesburg store clerk during a robbery last year.
A jury was selected on Monday to hear the case.
Alex Lopez was arrested in the shooting death of Raied Shihadeh, 51, who was killed May 29, 2024, at the Fast Stop Superette on Picciola Road, east of U.S. Highway 441.
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On Tuesday, Shihadeh’s widow broke down several times on the stand as she testified about talking to him on FaceTime when he was shot.
“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,” she said.
Detectives and a DNA specialist also took the stand.
While the state maintains Lopez shot the clerk as part of a robbery, the defense on Tuesday argued his wife did not see Lopez pull the trigger.
Lopez is not expected to take the stand.
Lopez was on the run for weeks before he was captured by police on June 26, 2024, near Kissimmee.
After Lopez’s arrest, Leesburg police announced a couple months later that his mother and sister were arrested and accused of hiding Lopez from law enforcement.
His girlfriend, Kaili E. Dupuis, turned herself in days after Lopez’s mother and sister were arrested. She faced similar charges.
Lopez was charged with murder, armed robbery, firearm possession by a felon and use of a firearm during a felony.
Prosecutors are seeking life in prison.
The trial is moving quickly and is expected to wrap up this week.