The Virginia man who killed his co-worker for stealing and eating his lunch out of their Target work refrigerator has been sentenced to 100 years in prison.
Bazn Berhe, 25, received the 100-year sentence with 30 years suspended, meaning he will serve 70 years of active incarceration, the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney confirmed Tuesday.
Berhe was charged with first-degree murder after he beat and stabbed his coworker Hernan Leiva, 58, to death in the parking lot of the Target in Bailey’s Crossroads on April 17, 2021.
Berhe was upset that that Leiva, who worked as a janitor at the retail store, had taken his lunch from the office fridge three days prior, prosecutors claimed.
After his lunch was stolen, presecutors say Berhe started planning to kill his co-worker. Two days before the crime, he purchased a hammer and two knives from Target. The next day he admitted to “training” to murder Leiva.
On the morning of April 17, Berhe arrived at the employee parking lot early and waited for Leiva to arrive. When he did, Berhe stabbed and bludgeoned him to death then left the scene, Fox News reported.
Berhe confessed to the killing immediately and pleaded guilty late last year to first-degree murder.
“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.”
Crystal Gross
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