A man convicted of murdering his co-worker after the man stole his lunch from the work refrigerator at a Virginia Target was sentenced to 100 years in prison Tuesday.
Bazn Berhe, 25, received the 100-year sentence with 30 years suspended, meaning he will serve at least 70 years, the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney announced Tuesday, according to The Washington Post.
Berhe was found guilty of first-degree murder after he planned and carried out the murder of his coworker Hernan Leiva, 58, in the parking lot of the Target in Bailey’s Crossroads, in 2021.
According to prosecutors, Berhe grew angry after he found out that Leiva, who was a janitor at Target, had taken his lunch from the office refrigerator several days earlier.
Berhe decided to kill Leiva, purchasing a hammer and two knives two days before the murder. He told detectives that he spent the next day “training for the murder,” Fox 5 DC reported.
On the morning of April 17, Berhe arrived at the employee parking lot early and waited for Leiva.
When Leiva headed to his car, Berhe stabbed and bludgeoned him to death.
Berhe was arrested and later confessed to the killing and pleaded guilty at trial in October. According to Fox News, prosecutors said at Berhe’s sentencing hearing that he threatened to kill or hurt other people if he was not given the harshest possible sentence.
Berhe described his actions to a judge as “a fit of rage,” the Post reported.
“Mr. Leiva’s unnecessary and tragic death leaves behind a grieving family and community, one that will never be the same after such a senseless act of violence,” Commonweath’s Attorney Steve Descano said.
“In this case, because of the unique and self-proclaimed danger the defendant continues to pose to the community, today’s sentence was a necessary outcome for maintaining public safety.”
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