Hazleton Gambler Found Guilty of Murdering Convenience Store Clerk

Jafet De Jesus Rodriguez, а 44-year-old, was found guilty on Thursday of murdering Ashokkumar Patel at Craig’s Food Mart in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, before stealing $14,000 from the store and leaving Patel to die.

Gambler Found Guilty of Murder and Robbery

Rodriguez was accused of robbing and killing 50-year-old clerk Ashokkumar Patel during a holdup at Craig’s Food Mart in Hazleton on December 12, 2020. Prosecutors say Rodriguez fled with a bank bag containing over $14,000. Rodriguez was seen on security footage wearing a face mask with white skull teeth just moments before he shot store clerk Ashokkumar Patel. On the right, a police mugshot shows Rodriguez. Patel, a father of three, had only been on the job for a week. After being shot, he managed to crawl to the phone and dial 911, but tragically died before the call connected.

Testimony from Hazleton Detective Ryan Mariano revealed that Rodriguez was a regular at the store’s gaming machines. During questioning, Rodriguez admitted he had previously lost a significant amount of money gambling at Craig’s Food Mart, though he had also won around $3,000 there just weeks before the robbery.

Prosecutors argued that his familiarity with the store’s operations made him aware that large sums of cash were kept on-site for immediate payouts, and that security was minimal. Rodriguez was arrested in January 2021 after investigators executed a search warrant at his home, where they discovered multiple cellphones and nearly $3,000 in cash.

Here Are More Details About the Case

On the day of the robbery, Rodriguez reportedly lost money playing the store’s gaming machines and then left to conduct a drug deal, according to testimony. Detective Mariano said Rodriguez admitted he last left the store between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.—the approximate time of the robbery. A search of Rodriguez’s home at 130 E. Cranberry Ave. uncovered several cellphones and approximately $3,000 in cash, the detective testified.

The jury had previously heard that one of Rodriguez’s phones, an iPhone 11, connected to cellphone towers tracking movement from his home to the crime scene at 517 W. Broad St. shortly before Patel was shot. GPS data later showed the phone returning to Rodriguez’s residence and then traveling to a car wash he owns at 410 E. Diamond Ave. There, police recovered a red and orange sweatshirt, along with a mask and gloves matching the robber’s outfit. Prosecutors say a bloodstain on the sweatshirt contained a DNA mixture from both Rodriguez and Patel.

Earlier Wednesday, Angel Rivera, a former Hazleton resident, testified that he once worked for Rodriguez detailing cars. In the fall of 2020, Rivera said he fell into financial trouble and borrowed several hundred dollars from Rodriguez, offering a .40-caliber Glock pistol, acquired from someone else, as collateral. Prosecutors believe that the gun was used in the murder, though it has never been recovered. Rodriguez now faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.