Man who killed Mesa shoe repair shop owner sentenced to 25 years in prison

A man will likely spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to the crime. murder of a shoe repair shop owner in Mesa in 2022.

Mesa police responded to Lamb’s Shoe Repair near Main Street and McDonald on December 6, 2022, after a customer found Jesus Fabian De La Rosa, 58, in a pool of his own blood with multiple gunshot wounds inside the store.

Court documents say De La Rosa reported his .380-caliber handgun was stolen several days before he was shot. The documents say investigators later linked the shooting to then-65-year-old Linell Brosier, a man who was homeless and De La Rosa allowed him to use the restroom and charge his electric wheelchair.

The documents said De La Rosa’s cellphone was missing from the scene, and location data showed the phone was near a Central Arizona Shelter Services, or CASS, shelter where Brosier often stayed. Surveillance cameras on the Valley Metro light rail also showed Brosier’s travel routes to and from his job and shelter.

The documents say investigators believe Brosier stole De La Rosa’s firearm before returning to the business, where he shot De La Rosa three times in the head at close range. Investigators have not found a clear motive for the murder, given De La Rosa’s previous ways of helping Brosier.

During the investigation, officers reviewed streetcar surveillance video that showed a man matching the witness’ description exiting and boarding a streetcar at Country Club Drive and Main Street around the time of the shooting. When the man first got out of the car, he had a cane. When he put his clothes back on, the cane was gone, police said. Officers said they found the cane at Lamb’s Shoe Repair Shop.

Brosier was arrested on December 9, 2022 and found with De La Rosa’s gun. He was later booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, armed robbery, misconduct with a weapon, theft of a firearm and possession of stolen property.

The documents say Brazier had a long history of chronic and severe mental illness and was estranged from his family members, who had not seen or heard from him in the last seven to 10 years.

They added that during meetings with his defense council and mitigation specialist, Breuer at times made paranoid statements about people trying to get his information and sometimes accidentally left meetings.

Documents show that on August 16, 2024, Brosier accepted a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and one count of armed robbery. On September 26, 2024, Brosier was sentenced to 25 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge and 21 years on the armed robbery charge, to be served concurrently. He was credited with the 657 days he had already spent in prison.

Arizona Department of Corrections records show Brosier is incarcerated at Lewis Prison in Buckeye as of Sept. 30 and is scheduled for release on Dec. 3, 2047, when he will turn 90 years old.