Man, 20, gets 25 years to life for North Phila. murder

A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty Wednesday to the North Philadelphia shooting death of a woman he believed was a witness to an earlier murder.

Shawn Poindexter, who was 17 when he killed Reyna Aguirre-Alonso, was sentenced to 25 years to life after admitting to charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy before Common Pleas Court Judge Barbara A. McDermott.

Aguirre-Alonso, 33, was working as a clerk at the Caribe Mini Market at Mutter and Westmoreland Streets the night of Jan. 23, 2012, when Poindexter, disguised in a black ski mask, gloves, and a hooded sweatshirt, entered the store and shot her four times in the chest.

Poindexter was enlisted to kill Aguirre-Alonso by Jorge Aldea, who had previously killed Louis Chevere Jr., 22, outside the store and believed Aguirre-Alonso was a witness.

Aldea "was the mastermind of this entire plot," said Assistant District Attorney Carlos Vega, who prosecuted the case.

Aldea, 25, pleaded guilty last month to the murders of Aguirre-Alonso and Chevere and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Two other codefendants in the Aguirre-Alonso case have pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, witness intimidation, and conspiracy.

Raymond Soto, 23, supplied the gun used by Poindexter, and Eliana Vazquez, 22, was Poindexter's getaway driver. Both are awaiting sentencing.

Aldea also directed Vazquez, who was his girlfriend, to present herself to the Homicide Unit as a bogus witness in the Chevere slaying "to mislead police," Vega said.

In the process, she learned that Aguirre-Alonso had been questioned by detectives. Vega called the brazen scheme "very sinister."

Vega said he could not comment on whether Aguirre-Alonso provided useful information to detectives. However, unidentified police sources told The Inquirer in 2012 that she did not identify Aldea as the killer.

"She died for nothing," a police source said.

Aguirre-Alonso lived in an apartment above the market, where she had worked for two years. Each week, she sent money to her mother in Mexico.

A jury had been selected for Poindexter's trial, and opening statements were about to begin when he decided to take a deal.

With all four participants pleading guilty in Aguirre-Alonso's murder, "there's finally closure for [her] family," Vega said.