EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A 28-year-old man who was convicted of killing a mini-mart clerk in Everett has been sentenced to life in prison.
Jae An of Everett was working the closing shift at an Everett mini-mart on April 22, 2019 when prosecutors say he was stabbed to death during a robbery by Michealob Johnson, The Herald reported.
Snohomish Superior Court Judge Bruce Weiss sentenced Johnson Tuesday to life in prison. A jury earlier this year convicted Johnson on charges of aggravated first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
Johnson had planned to rob the store near his residence in order to pay his rent and walked in with three knives that night, according to court documents.
Store surveillance video appears to show Johnson putting a bottle on the counter before he attacks An with a knife, stabbing him repeatedly, court documents said. Johnson didn’t say anything about money, according to court records.
The video shows a woman walking into the mini-mart soon after the attack and Johnson trying to stab her as well but she managed to escape, records said.
Customers honored An, 58, at a candlelight vigil days after he was killed.
“This was a human slaughter to a man who was kind, who had clientele, certainly a close family. It’s going to impact his family for the rest of their life,” Weiss told the court.