This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A former Utah man convicted for robbing a Salt Lake City convenience store and shooting a clerk in the process nearly three years ago died this week from injuries sustained in a riot at a federal prison in Virginia.
Filikisi "Junior" Hafoka, 23, died Thursday after being removed from life support, a family member in Utah said. Hafoka was serving a 12-year prison sentence at the the U.S. Penitentiary-Lee in Jonesville, Va. for shooting a 7-Eleven clerk in July 2007.
He was stabbed during a riot at the prison that occurred last weekend. His funeral arrangements are pending in Utah.
A spokeswoman at the federal prison in Petersburg, Va., confirmed prison records indicate Hafoka died Thursday. Todd Sloop, a public information officer at the Jonesville prison, could not be reached for comment Friday night to discuss details surrounding Hafoka's death.
In August 2009, U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell in Salt Lake City sentenced Hafoka and Siale Angilau to each serve 144 months in federal prison. The two, who were documented members of the Tongan Crip Gang, were believed to responsible before a string of armed robberies at Salt Lake Valley businesses.
Hafoka and Angilau admitted to taking part in the 7-Eleven robbery, in which a 7-Eleven clerk was shot and injured at 515 N. 300 West. The clerk survived a wound in the abdomen.
Their co-defendants, Viliami Loumoli, of Salt Lake City, and John Tuakalau, of Magna, both now 22, also pleaded guilty in the case and were sentenced to prison last year. Loumoli was sentenced to 35 years in prison and Tuakalau to 30 years.