MESA, Ariz. — The man convicted of murdering the owner of a shoe repair shop in downtown Mesa has been sentenced to prison.
Lynell Brosier, 67, was sentenced last month in Maricopa County Superior Court to 25 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Jesus Fabian De La Rosa.
De La Rosa, who had owned Lamb's Shoe Repair since 2005, was found dead in his shop on Dec. 6, 2022 from a gunshot wound. The victim's cellphone was missing.
A few days before his death, De La Rosa filed a police report after his firearm was stolen. He told police that a man who would use his business's restroom on occasion may have taken the handgun.
Mesa police were able to track De La Rosa's cellphone data from Mesa to Central Arizona Shelter Services in Phoenix. When investigators arrived at CASS, they reported finding Brosier in possession of with De La Rosa's stolen gun.
The victim's customers and friends told 12News in 2022 that De La Rosa always loved helping people and putting others before himself.
"Caring, loving, kind, compassionate," a friend said when describing De La Rosa. "Happy-go-lucky, hard worker, a friend."
The defendant pleaded guilty to murder and armed robbery earlier this year.
Brosier was additionally sentenced to 21 years in prison for the robbery offense, which will run concurrently to the murder sentence. His estimated release date from prison is in December 2047.
*Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.*