BAILEY'S CROSSROADS, Va. — A Fairfax County man will spend decades behind bars for the murder of a coworker at a Bailey's Crossroads Target back in 2021. Bazen Berhe, 25, was sentenced on Tuesday to 100 years in prison for the killing of 58-year-old Hernan Leiva.
During the sentencing, Berhe threatened to kill or hurt other people if he was not given the harshest possible sentence. The judge sentenced him to 100 years, with 30 years suspended, for the first-degree murder charge. Berhe will serve 70 years total.
Berhe, of Alexandria, claimed he was upset with Leiva, who was a janitor at the Target where they both worked, for taking Berhe's lunch from the office fridge. According the the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, after the lunch theft, Berhe began planning the murder over the course of the next few days.
The next day, April 15, Berhe purchased a hammer and two knives while leaving his shift at Target. He told detectives he spent the following two days "training for murder."
In the early morning hours of April 17, Berhe arrived at the employee parking lot and waited for Leiva to get to work. When Leiva showed up, Berhe stabbed and beat him to death and ran away. He was taken into custody a short time later.
Berhe confessed to the crime immediately and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in October of 2023.
“Mr. Leiva’s unnecessary and tragic death leaves behind a grieving family and community, one that will never be the same after such a senseless act of violence,” Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano said. “In this case, because of the unique and self-proclaimed danger the defendant continues to pose to the community, today’s sentence was a necessary outcome for maintaining public safety.”
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