Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that Michael Mitchell has been sentenced to spend the rest of his natural life in prison, without the possibility of parole, for the murder of a retired New York City engineer.

Mitchell, 22, of 619 Casanova Street, the Bronx, was convicted last month of Murder in the first degree and Attempted Robbery in the first degree, in the fatal shooting of Saulius Remeza, 67, and the unsuccessful car jack attempt against Erwin Campoverde, a 19 year old high school senior at the time. The attempted car jacking occurred only half an hour before the murder. The jury found Mitchell guilty following a three week trial and nine days of deliberations.

In addition to the sentence of life without the possibility of parole for the murder, Acting State Supreme Court Justice Martin Marcus also sentenced Mitchell to an additional concurrent term of fifteen years imprisonment for the attempted car jacking.

Remeza, 67, was shot twice in the head and once in the chest on March 12, 2001 at a New York City Department of Sanitation Depot that is located on the same block as the defendant’s residence in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. Mitchell accosted the victim and opened fire before taking the older man’s cell phone, car keys and car. At the time of his death, Remeza was working as a consultant on a construction project at the sanitation depot.

The attempted car-jacking, a short time before the murder, occurred a few blocks away in front of a school at 732 Longfellow Avenue. The victim, Erwin Campoverde, testified that he was sitting in his father’s minivan waiting for a friend when Mitchell ordered him at gunpoint to get out of the vehicle or be killed. As Mitchell attempted to pull open the door, Campoverde started the engine and drove away.

Mitchell was arrested two days after the mini crime spree when detectives traced his whereabouts by using the murder victim’s telephone records. Investigators traced calls made to an address in Brooklyn. While canvassing the area near the Brooklyn address, detectives located Remeza’s car and waited for the defendant to return to the vehicle. He was arrested with the car keys and cellular telephone in his possession.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Daniel McCarthy, Chief Trial Counsel and Director of Trial Training.