Lake County jury convicts Alex Lopez of murder of Port St. Lucie resident Ray Shihadeh
ALL RIGHT, KIM, WE WANT TO GET YOU BACK TO THIS BREAKING NEWS LIVE PICTURES. NOW FROM INSIDE THE COURTHOUSE IN TAVARES IN LAKE COUNTY, WHERE THE JURY HAS REACHED A VERDICT IN THE TRIAL OF ALEX LOPEZ. THIS IS A MAN ACCUSED OF SHOOTING AND KILLING A CONVENIENCE STORE CLERK. LOPEZ WAS JUST BROUGHT INTO THE COURTROOM. HIS SHACKLES WERE JUST REMOVED. AND WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO STAY ON THIS PICTURE AS WE ARE AWAITING HERE. NOW A VERDICT AT ANY MOMENT. THIS WAS A VERY HIGH PROFILE AND VERY EMOTIONAL CASE THERE IN LAKE COUNTY. ALEX LOPEZ IS CHARGED WITH FIRST DEGREE MURDER AND ROBBERY. INVESTIGATORS SAY HE COMMITTED THIS CRIME FOR JUST $100. SURVEILLANCE VIDEO SHOWED THE MOMENT PROSECUTORS SAY HE WALKED INTO A CONVENIENCE STORE IN LEESBURG LAST YEAR AND SHOT THE CLERK. NOW, THE VICTIM REALLY IS JUST WHAT ADDS A LAYER OF JUST HEARTBREAK TO THIS ENTIRE CASE. HIS NAME IS RAY SHEHADEH, AND HE WAS A FATHER OF FIVE, A HUSBAND, AND DESCRIBED BY HIS FAMILY AS A VERY HARD WORKER, A VERY DEDICATED TO HIS FAMILY AND HIS COMMUNITY, AND QUITE THE TWIST HERE, IN THIS CASE, HIS WIFE MONIQUE TOOK THE STAND YESTERDAY IN THIS TRIAL, TELLING JURORS THAT SHE WAS ACTUALLY ON A FACETIME CALL WITH HER HUSBAND WHEN THE ATTACK HAPPENED. SO IT’S BEEN A VERY COMPELLING AND HEARTBREAKING TESTIMONY IN THIS CASE. AGAIN, WE ARE ABOUT TO GET A VERDICT. LET’S LISTEN IN TO JUST A MOMENT. THAT IS ALL. 12 OF YOU AGREED TO THE SAME VERDICT. YES, SIR. ALL RIGHT. COULD YOU PLEASE HAND DEPUTY FRANSEN THE VERDICT FORM? TODAY IS THE 17TH. ALL RIGHT. THE COURT FINDS THAT THERE ARE NO ERRORS OR OMISSIONS WITH THE CLERK. PLEASE PUBLISH THE VERDICT IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, IN AND FOR LAKE COUNTY. STATE OF FLORIDA VERSUS ALEX LOPEZ. CASE NUMBER 2024 CF 1341. VERDICT COUNT ONE. WE, THE JURY, FIND AS FOLLOWS. AS TO THE DEFENDANT IN THIS CASE, THE DEFENDANT IS GUILTY OF MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE. SO SAY WE ALL DATED THE 17TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2025. KENNETH LEININGER, FOREPERSON VERDICT COUNT TWO. WE, THE JURY, FIND AS FOLLOWS. AS TO THE DEFENDANT IN THIS CASE, THE DEFENDANT IS GUILTY OF ROBBERY WITH A FIREARM. SO SAY WE ALL DATED THE 17TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2025. KENNETH LEININGER, FOREPERSON WILL THE STATE OR THE DEFENSE LIKE TO POLL THE JURY? YES, YOUR HONOR, YOU HAVE IT. KENNETH LEININGER, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. MARIAH. GEORGE, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. DONALD LIVONIUS, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. SARAH FORD, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. LINDSEY MARTIN, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. FAITH KELLY, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. DANIELLE SLADE, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. JANET HEROLD, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. MARY FARRIS, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. ERICA GILES, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. HECTOR RIVERA, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. STANLEY BRAZELL, IS THIS YOUR TRUE VERDICT? YES. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. MEMBERS OF THE JURY, I HAVE ONE FINAL INSTRUCTION FOR YOU. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF YOUR TIME IN THIS CASE, I ALSO WANT TO ADVISE YOU OF SOME VERY SPECIAL PRIVILEGES ENJOYED BY JURORS. NO JUROR CAN EVER BE REQUIRED TO TALK ABOUT THE DISCUSSIONS THAT OCCURRED IN THE JURY ROOM, EXCEPT BY COURT ORDER. FOR MANY CENTURIES, OUR SOCIETY HAS RELIED UPON JURIES FOR CONSIDERATION OF DIFFICULT CASES. WE HAVE RECOGNIZED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS THAT A JURY’S DELIBERATIONS, DISCUSSIONS AND VOTES SHOULD REMAIN THEIR PRIVATE AFFAIR AS LONG AS THEY WISH IT. THEREFORE, THE LAW GIVES YOU A UNIQUE PRIVILEGE NOT TO SPEAK ABOUT THE JURY’S WORK. ALTHOUGH YOU ARE, YOU ARE AT LIBERTY TO SPEAK WITH ANYONE ABOUT YOUR DELIBERATIONS. YOU ARE ALSO AT LIBERTY TO REFUSE TO SPEAK TO ANYONE. A REQUEST TO DISCUSS EITHER YOUR VERDICT OR YOUR DELIBERATIONS MAY COME FROM THOSE WHO ARE SIMPLY CURIOUS, FROM THOSE WHO MIGHT SEEK TO FIND FAULT WITH YOU, FROM THE MEDIA, FROM THE LAWYERS OR ELSEWHERE. IT WILL BE UP TO YOU TO DECIDE WHETHER TO PRESERVE. YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING LIVE THERE TO THE PROCEEDINGS IN THAT COURTROOM IN LAKE COUNTY, A JUDGE GIVING THE JURY SOME MORE INSTRUCTIONS THERE. AFTER THEY CAME BACK WITH A GUILTY VERDICT. ALEX LOPEZ FOUND GUILTY OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER AND ROBBERY IN THIS CASE AGAINST A CONVENIENCE STORE CLERK, A BELOVED CLERK THERE IN LAKE COUNTY, A CRIME COMMITTED OVER JUST $100. WE DO HAVE A REPORTER THERE IN THE COURTROOM. WE ARE WORKING TO GET REACTION FROM THE CLERK’S FAMILY HAS BEEN AN EMOTIONAL WEEK OF TESTIMONY.
Lake County jury convicts Alex Lopez of murder of Port St. Lucie resident Ray Shihadeh
Updated: 5:03 PM EST Dec 17, 2025
A jury in a Lake County courtroom reached a verdict Wednesday in the murder trial of a victim from Port St. Lucie.According to court documents, Alex Lopez, 26, was found guilty of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm and other deadly weapon.The jury deliberated the verdict for nearly three hours.Prosecutors dropped a possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon charge.Lopez was sentenced to life in prison for the murder charge and 15 years for the robbery charge. Lopez will spend the rest of his life in state prison.Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsLopez’s defense motioned for acquittal, but that was denied by the court. Lopez has 30 days to appeal the verdict.“Less than a hundred dollars is what this ruthless, wanna be thug valued over the victim’s life,” said State Attorney Bill Gladson of Florida’s Fifth Judicial Circuit in a statement. “While this verdict, nor any amount of money, can’t bring the victim back, we hope his family finds comfort in knowing this killer won’t walk free again.”According to WPBF 25 sister station WESH 2 News, Lopez did not testify during the trial.On May 30, 2024, Lopez entered a Leesburg convenience store owned by Port St. Lucie resident Raied “Ray” Shihadeh, 51.Lopez pulled a gun on Shihadeh, who was behind a counter, shot Shihadeh and robbed the store.Lopez was captured by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on June 26, 2024.Shihadeh’s wife, Monique Shihadeh, took to the witness stand during the trial because she was video calling her husband when the crime was committed.The state attorney’s office said the case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Ken Nunnelley and Rachel Jones.Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
TAVARES, Fla. —
A jury in a Lake County courtroom reached a verdict Wednesday in the murder trial of a victim from Port St. Lucie.
According to court documents, Alex Lopez, 26, was found guilty of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm and other deadly weapon.
The jury deliberated the verdict for nearly three hours.
State Attorney’s Office Florida Fifth Judicial Circuit
Alex Lopez, left, was found guilty of first-degree murder and robbery of Raied “Ray” Shihadeh, a business owner in Leesburg who lived in Port St. Lucie, at the Lake County Courthouse, Wednesday, December 17, 2025.
Prosecutors dropped a possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon charge.
Lopez was sentenced to life in prison for the murder charge and 15 years for the robbery charge.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Alex Lopez
Lopez will spend the rest of his life in state prison.
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
Lopez’s defense motioned for acquittal, but that was denied by the court. Lopez has 30 days to appeal the verdict.
“Less than a hundred dollars is what this ruthless, wanna be thug valued over the victim’s life,” said State Attorney Bill Gladson of Florida’s Fifth Judicial Circuit in a statement. “While this verdict, nor any amount of money, can’t bring the victim back, we hope his family finds comfort in knowing this killer won’t walk free again.”
According to WPBF 25 sister station WESH 2 News, Lopez did not testify during the trial.
On May 30, 2024, Lopez entered a Leesburg convenience store owned by Port St. Lucie resident Raied “Ray” Shihadeh, 51.
Lopez pulled a gun on Shihadeh, who was behind a counter, shot Shihadeh and robbed the store.
Lopez was captured by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on June 26, 2024.
Shihadeh’s wife, Monique Shihadeh, took to the witness stand during the trial because she was video calling her husband when the crime was committed.
The state attorney’s office said the case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Ken Nunnelley and Rachel Jones.
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.