Man Sentenced To 35 Years For Killing Beloved Clerk In Midwood Liquor Store

The man who confessed to killing a beloved Midwood liquor store clerk during a 2010 robbery was sentenced to 35 years in prison, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes announced today.

Eion Klass, 36, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and attempted robbery charges earlier this month, and was sentenced to 25 years and 10 years respectively.

According to the DA’s office, Klass was out on parole on August 19, 2010, when he attempted to rob a Midwood liquor store wearing a mask and a gun. During the robbery, he demanded the jewelry off of a woman in the store who turned out to be the girlfriend of the clerk, Yoseph Robinson. Robinson tried to stop Klass, leading to a struggle in which he was fatally shot.

Klass was arrested the following week.

Robinson himself was a beloved and inspirational figure, having been a repentant Jamaican-born drug dealer who converted to Orthodox Judaism. His death sparked a tremendous outpouring of support from Brooklyn’s Jewish community, and more than 1,000 people attended his funeral.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Neil Firetog also slapped Klass with 10 years for an unrelated robbery, in which Klass clubbed a man over the head and beat him before stealing jewelry and a cell phone. Klass will serve those 10 years concurrently.