Jurors today found a 32-year-old man guilty of murdering a Kroger cashier on a busy day for the grocery store in December 2023.

Jermard J. Lewis now faces between 45 and 65 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of 59-year-old Perla A. Nieto at the Waynedale grocery story on Bluffton Road.

Jurors deliberated for about two hours before returning to the courtroom with verdicts.

Nieto had worked at Kroger for about 30 years before Lewis attacked the woman from behind and stabbed her several times, Deputy Prosecutor Tesa Helge said.

Lewis had threatened to kill Nieto about 30 minutes earlier during a disturbance over a misunderstanding. Lewis took his girlfriend home and returned to the store with a steak knife.

Helge showed jurors surveillance video of the attack twice during closing arg

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