Man guilty in deadly AutoZone robbery gets life sentence with parole eligibility
Nov 18, 2024
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DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) – The third of three men charged in a robbery that turned fatal will serve at least three decades in prison after a sentencing hearing Friday in Delaware County.
According to the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office, Anthony Blakely was sentenced to life in prison with the eligibility of parole after 33 years stemming from a 2023 robbery at an AutoZone store near Polaris Fashion place that left 43-year-old Alejandro Fajardo-Torres dead.
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Blakely, 28, along with Zackeyis S. Davis and Darius Wynn, were charged in a robbery at the Sancus Boulevard store on Aug. 24. 2023 when Fajardo-Torres attempted to intervene and was shot by one of the suspects. A second victim, an 18-year-old man, was also hospitalized from a blunt-force trauma injury during the robbery.
A judge immediately issued Blakely’s sentence after his plea, which included charges of murder, felonious assault and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. In May, Blakely rejected a plea deal and was scheduled to go on trial Aug. 20. He then changed his plea on Friday.
Columbus police identified Blakely’s actions as what set off a chain of events, resulting in Fajardo-Torres’ death. Police said that Blakely and the suspects entered the AutoZone store and demanded a store clerk open a cash register, but when the clerk could not open it, Blakely struck him with a gun. Fajardo-Torres then attempted to intervene and was shot and killed.
Zackeyis Davis (left), Darius Wynn (center), and Anthony Blakely (right). (Courtesy/Delaware County Sheriff’s Office)A person was fatally shot at an AutoZone on Sancus Boulevard near Polaris on Aug. 24, 2023. (NBC4 Photo/Kyle Beachy)Columbus police released an image of two suspects wanted in an alleged robbery that turned fatal at an AutoZone store near Polaris Mall (Courtesy/Columbus Division of Police)
Blakely, along with Davis and Wynn, were part of a suspected “enterprise”, according to court documents, in which they allegedly committed multiple robberies between May 14, 2023, and September 16, 2023.
In July, Wynn, pleaded guilty to murder, aggravated robbery and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, along with two firearm specifications. The crimes were thought to be so egregious that a judge issued consecutive sentences, resulting in a life sentence with possible parole after 41 years.
In June, Davis was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years for an aggravated murder charge and 10 to 15 years in prison for an attempted murder charge, which stemmed from a separate incident that left another man paralyzed. He was also given three years in prison for each charge due to firearm specifications. All sentences will be served consecutively