Man sentenced to 3 life terms in sledgehammer beating

Rodobaldo 'Johnny' Sanchez convicted of beating store owner during robbery

MIAMI – A man convicted of first-degree attempted murder was sentenced to three life sentences Friday in the beating of a store owner in Little Havana.

Prosecutors said Rodobaldo "Johnny" Sanchez went inside Alex's Mini Market in the 500 block of Northwest 12th Avenue on Dec. 18, 2011, pretending to buy some milk.

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Instead, Sanchez spayed a chemical on the owner, Cen Yue Kui. He then went around the counter and beat the victim with a sledgehammer, grabbed two cartons of cigarettes and escaped on a bicycle.

Kui suffered skull fractures and was in a coma with brain damage at Jackson Memorial Hospital. He survived the attack, but he will always need a wheel chair for mobility.

Police found a fingerprint that they were able to link to Sanchez because of a prior arrest. Detectives also found Kui's blood on Sanchez's shirt.

Sanchez, who was homeless at the time, was convicted in February of first-degree attempted murder, armed robbery and armed burglary.

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Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.