Man convicted in robbery, killing at grocery store

Published 6:13 am Wednesday, May 5, 2021

A federal jury has convicted a Tennessee man in a robbery and killing at a grocery store in southern Kentucky.

Jurors spent about 90 minutes deliberating Monday in U.S. District Court before returning a guilty verdict on all charges against Jorge Santos Caballero-Melgar, 36, of Nashville, the Daily News reported.

Prosecutors presented evidence over five days that Caballero-Melgar orchestrated robberies at businesses in Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina from December 2016 to September 2017, including at La Placita market in Bowling Green where Jose Cruz, 31, was fatally shot while attempting to intervene.

Charges against Caballero-Melgar included conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, murder through use of a firearm during a crime of violence, interference with commerce by robbery, conspiracy to carry or possess a firearm during a crime of violence and illegal re-entry after deportation.

Caballero-Melgar faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 2.