Florida man arrested in connection with fatal hammer attack at gas station

FORT MYERS, Fla. (TCN) -- A 40-year-old man has been arrested and charged with homicide and property damage in connection with a fatal hammer attack at a gas station.

The Fort Myers Police Department announced the arrest of Rolbert Joachin on April 2. The Fort Myers News-Press reports he was arrested several hours after a 51-year-old woman was found dead.

The victim’s name was Nilufar Yasmin and she was a mother of two, People’s Gazette Nigeria reports.

Surveillance footage from the gas station allegedly showed Joachin smashing the windshield of a car, according to Gulf Coast News Now. Yasmin then came outside and was approached by Joachin. He allegedly attacked her with a hammer. According to other employees of the gas station, the car belonged to Yasmin.

The Fort Myers News-Press reports the gas station’s owner said Joachin allegedly came into the station the day before and tried to withdraw money from an ATM. After being unable to do so, he allegedly demanded cash from the clerk, Yasmin, who told him the store did not own the ATM and she could not give him cash. According to the owner, the next day, Yasmin was praying when she heard her car being damaged and went outside to confront the suspect.

Fort Myers Police Chief Jason Fields said, “We were not going home until we found [Joachin]. We had, I think, a cop on every single block in the last confirmed area that we saw him, and we used every resource, like I said, from our aviation support, K-9 support, to boots on the ground,” Gulf Coast News Now reports.

According to Lee County Jail records obtained by the Fort Myers News-Press, Joachin is a transient.

Joachin made his first court appearance on April 3 and is being held without bond, according to Gulf Coast News Now. He is scheduled to appear again in court on May 4, per the Fort Myers News-Press.

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