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Jury Selection Begins in Alex Lopez Trial Over 2024 Leesburg Store Killing

Prosecutors declined the death penalty, making this a non-capital case.

Overview

  • The trial opened Monday in Lake County with jury selection at the courthouse in Tavares.
  • Alex Lopez, 26, is accused of fatally shooting Raied "Ray" Shihadeh during a robbery at the Fast Stop Superette in Leesburg on May 30, 2024.
  • Surveillance video shows a gunman enter, shoot the clerk behind the counter, then take about $100 and a vape product from the register.
  • Lopez was identified as the suspect after tips and was taken into custody in the Kissimmee area on June 26, 2024, before being booked by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on June 28.
  • He faces counts including first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, felon-in-possession of a firearm and ammunition, and carrying a concealed weapon during an offense, and he has pleaded not guilty.