A former Target worker from Virginia has been sentenced to a century in prison for repeatedly stabbing and bludgeoning to death a colleague he accused of stealing his lunch.
During his sentencing Tuesday, 25-year-old Bazen Berhe threatened to kill or hurt more people, unless he is given the harshest possible punishment, Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a press release.
A Fairfax County judge handed Berhe a 100-year prison term, with 30 years suspended, so he will spend the next 70 years behind bars.
Berhe, from Alexandria, worked at the Bailey’s Crossroads Target when in August 2021 he ambushed 58-year-old store janitor Hernan Leiva and killed him with knives and a hammer.
Berhe was charged with first-degree murder in the savage slaying, which he claimed was triggered by Leiva’s stealing his food from the office fridge on April 14.
The disgruntled Target worker said he was upset by the alleged theft and spent the next few days plotting his homicidal revenge.
The next day, Berhe bought a hammer and a pair of knives while leaving his shift at Target — and he told detectives he spent the following day “training for murder,” according to the press release.
On the third day, April 17, Berhe arrived at the Target employee parking lot nearly and lay in wait for Leiva.
When the unsuspecting janitor showed up to work, Berhe charged at him with his arsenal of weapons, stabbing and beating him, before running away.
A short time later, Berhe returned to the parking lot and surrendered himself to the police officers who were investigating the crime.
Berhe immediately confessed to Leiva’s killing and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in October 2023.
“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,” 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.”
Leiva was a native of El Salvador who lived Falls Church, Virginia, with his partner, Esperanza, and his two sons, according to his online obituary, which praised him as an “extraordinarily hard worker and prominent figure to his family” who beloved for his sense of humor.
“He was an exemplary figure and beacon of light in your moment of darkness,” son Jesse Leiva wrote in the description of a GoFundMe campaign.
