A 49-year-old man was found guilty of murder Friday for gunning down a woman in front of the Cobb County grocery store where she worked as a cashier in 2009.
Armando Soto was sentenced to life in prison plus 35 years for the death of 32-year-old Angelica Robledo De La Rosa, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Soto and De La Rosa had been in a romantic relationship for three years, but the witnesses during the trial indicated that she did not want the relationship to continue, the DA’s office said in the news release.
There was a pattern of harassment before she was killed, said Senior Assistant District Attorney Ann B. Harris, who prosecuted the case.
“The victim was in fear, her friends and family knew she was in fear, and they all told her to call the police,” Harris said.
The alleged stalking incidents were not reported to police, authorities said.
On Dec. 29, 2009, Soto went to the Brito Supermarket on South Cobb Drive, where De La Rosa worked. When she arrived, he jumped from his van and shot her five times with a .380 caliber weapon, then fired twice at the driver who was dropping her off, hitting his front windshield and the driver’s side window before fleeing the scene, prosecutors said.
Soto was arrested early the next morning in Gautier, Miss.
During the trial, Soto admitted to killing De La Rosa, claiming voluntary manslaughter by saying his “mind exploded” when he saw her embrace the driver who was dropping her off at work.
Soto, who remains in the Cobb County Detention Center, was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of certain crimes, and second-degree criminal damage to property.
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