A former 7-Eleven employee has been sentenced to 18 years to life in prison for fatally shooting a woman who had stolen a salad from the store.
In September, 37-year-old Rainer Jefferson was convicted of second-degree murder for the killing of 35-year-old Mallery Armijo, which occurred on June 23, 2023, outside a 7-Eleven near Sahara Avenue and Joe W. Brown Drive in Las Vegas. Jefferson was arrested several days after the shooting.
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, officers responded shortly after midnight following a ShotSpotter alert reporting gunfire in the area. When they arrived, they found Armijo suffering from two gunshot wounds to the back; she later died at the hospital. Witnesses told police that the store clerk had shot Armijo after a confrontation over stolen items.
When officers searched the store, no employees were present. The shift manager later informed police that Jefferson—known to coworkers as "Ray"—had called to say someone needed to cover his shift because he had "hit" someone.
Jefferson had signed an employment agreement prohibiting him from carrying weapons or physically engaging with suspected shoplifters. At the time of his arrest, he was on probation and barred from possessing firearms due to two prior felony convictions.
During the sentencing hearing, Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani described Jefferson's response as "entirely inappropriate" and evidence of his "penchant for violence," citing a criminal record dating back to 2007. Giordani urged District Judge Tierra Jones to impose a sentence of 18 years to life.
Public defender Robert Arroyo, however, asked the court to forgo a life sentence, arguing that Jefferson had been outnumbered by transients and drug users who were armed with knives and a gun and that the jury's second-degree murder verdict showed the act was not premeditated. Arroyo said his client had endured a difficult upbringing, was remorseful, and had not intended to cause harm.
Judge Jones ultimately sentenced Jefferson to 10 years to life for second-degree murder, plus an additional eight to 20 years for using a deadly weapon, to be served consecutively.
