Ricardo Hernandez

Case record: Ricardo Hernandez

Ricardo Hernandez, also known as “Ricky” and “El Boy,” was wanted by Brownsville police for the alleged capital murder of three teens in a near decade-old cold triple-homicide case.

Background

Hernandez was 16 and a student at Perkins’s Middle School when he allegedly killed the three boys. His last known address here was 1195 Chilton St., according to the Brownsville Crime Stoppers Web site.

Hernandez traveled in a Ford Mustang with then-18-year-old Christopher Carrera while they raced a Camaro occupied by the three boys. Hernandez was also described as being sought by Brownsville police for close to 10 years.

The offence

Hernandez was accused of shooting 14-year-old Jason Sexton and 18-year-olds Roberto Moreno and Ricardo Mata with a 9mm pistol on April 25, 1998, on Minnesota Road.

Shortly after the killing, police detectives said the boys were found shot dead on Minnesota Road inside a white Chevrolet Camaro. Police reported that Hernandez killed them in an attempted failed robbery and fled to Matamoros.

On the night of the killings, Sexton, Moreno and Mata were riding in a Chevrolet Camaro, drag racing on Billy Mitchell Road against Hernandez and Christopher Carrera, who were in a Ford Mustang. After racing, the two groups met up. Sexton, Moreno and Mata asked Hernandez if he knew where they could get some beer. For reasons that were not clear, they drove to Minnesota Road, where the teens were killed.

Mata and Moreno were found lying near Moreno’s Camaro; Sexton was found in a small ditch a few yards away, according to police reports. Sexton was shot six times, apparently while trying to flee.

Investigation

Mexican authorities arrested Hernandez and he was then handed over to local authorities at 8:25 p.m. Monday night at the B&M International Bridge. Brownsville police received confirmation that Hernandez was contacted by Mexican authorities regarding his arrest.

Brownsville Police Chief Carlos Garcia said he was “contacted by Mexican authorities regarding Hernandez's arrest” and that “That's the person that we've been after for close to 10 years.” Garcia said Hernandez would undergo fingerprinting identification and photo line-ups to ensure positive identification.

Hernandez was also described as being charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, a federal charge.

Authorities still did not know the motive for the murders. Some speculation was that it was a botched robbery. Assistant District Attorney Peter Gilman said: “There is nothing we can be sure of.” He also said: “Some say that Ricky just wanted to rob them of $10 or something like that, but we don’t know for sure what the deal is.”

The families of the slain teenagers said they did not know why their boys were killed.

Arrest

Mexican authorities arrested 25-year-old Ricardo “Ricky” Hernandez, wanted by Brownsville police for the alleged capital murder of three teens. Hernandez was arrested in connection with the Texas triple murder case.

Trial

Hernandez pleaded guilty to the murders.

Before 138th state District Court Judge Arturo C. Nelson, Hernandez pleaded guilty to killing Jason Sexton, 14; Roberto Moreno, 18; and Ricardo Mata, 18, on April 25, 1998. When asked how he wanted to plea, Hernandez replied, “Guilty.” He said he was pleading guilty because he had committed the crime.

The three teenagers were shot and left for dead on Minnesota Road in a remote area of Brownsville.

Statements and reactions in court

Irma Moreno, Robert’s mother, told Hernandez in court: “You killed my father. You killed him by taking away his grandson,” and “He died a little every day after that. He could not come to grips, because you took his baby away.”

Annette Recio angrily told Hernandez in open court: “You are a murderer. ... You will always be the piece of (expletive) that ripped out my heart and killed my brother,”

Sexton’s mother, Sheryl, told Hernandez quietly: “Right now, I don’t think you feel any remorse for what you did,” and “I don’t know what any 14-year-old could say or do to make someone shoot him six times and take his life.”

Sentencing

Hernandez was sentenced on Friday to 35 years in prison for each of the three murders. The sentences were to run concurrently.

Cameron County District Attorney Armando R. Villalobos said his office had little evidence and that witnesses either were now dead or hiding in Mexico, so there was no way to guarantee a conviction had the case gone to trial. Villalobos said: “The parents had their sons massacred, so there is nothing that we can do that is ever going to change that or bring them back,” and “We have no ill feelings, nothing but understanding, for what the parents are going through.”

Villalobos stated that Hernandez and Carrera each claimed the other had shot the teenagers. Villalobos said: “All we really had was the Carrera family, who has given us various stories. One day (Carrera) would tell us that Ricky did this, and then another day he would say he wasn’t going to testify against Ricky, so we had a very difficult time getting ready for this trial,”

Villalobos said his office would send information linking Hernandez to a Mexican drug cartel to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in an attempt to ensure that Hernandez served the entire term of his sentence without parole. Villalobos said: “We have a lot of ancillary evidence as to what his (Hernandez’s) membership was, and we are going to provide that ancillary evidence to TDC in hopes they will classify him as a security threat,”

Villalobos said: “Should officials of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice accept the district attorney’s paperwork, officials could force Hernandez to serve his entire sentence with no chance for parole.”

Appeals

No appeals were mentioned.

Outcome

Hernandez pleaded guilty to killing Jason Sexton, Roberto Moreno, and Ricardo Mata on April 25, 1998, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison for each of the three murders, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Christopher Carrera was sentenced in January 2004 to 15 years in prison for his participation in the triple murder. Carrera pleaded guilty to the murders in January 2004 in exchange for his willingness to testify against Hernandez.

Aftermath

Hernandez fled to Mexico after the murders and remained there for about 10 years, reportedly under the protection of the Gulf Cartel. Villalobos said: “That is why we suspect he was able to stay in Matamoros so long without being turned over,”

Authorities received information from confidential sources that linked Hernandez with the Gulf Cartel, once headed by Osiel Cárdenas Guillén. Cárdenas Guillén, 43, was serving a 25-year sentence in a U.S. federal penitentiary for conspiracy to traffic drugs, money laundering, and threatening to assault and murder U.S. federal agents.

Villalobos stated that his office believed part of Cárdenas Guillén’s plea agreement involved Hernandez being turned over to U.S. authorities, and Villalobos said: “Although the district attorney’s office has nothing on paper, and nothing that would stand up in court, Villalobos said he believes that when Cárdenas Guillén was given his plea deal of 25 years, part of the agreement was that Hernandez would be turned over to U.S. authorities.”

Irma Moreno said she was not satisfied with the punishment and not even sure a life sentence would serve as justice. Moreno said: “It sucks. We are not celebrities … we got the (expletive) end of the deal,” and “My son is gone, the son that I carried for nine months. The son I raised for 18 years.” Moreno also said: “What (Hernandez) did was a very heinous crime. He took three very beautiful boys that shouldn’t have been killed.”

Timeline

• April 25, 1998 — Hernandez allegedly shot 14-year-old Jason Sexton and 18-year-olds Roberto Moreno and Ricardo Mata with a 9mm pistol on Minnesota Road.
• January 2004 — Christopher Carrera pleaded guilty to the murders and received a 15-year prison sentence.
• March 25, 2008 — Hernandez was arrested by Mexican authorities in connection with the Texas triple murder.
• January 7, 2011 — Hernandez pleaded guilty to the murders and was sentenced to 35 years in prison for each of the three murders.
• January 6, 2011 — Hernandez was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Other details

Hernandez’s plea seemed to bring little comfort to the slain teenagers’ families, who said they still did not know why their boys were killed. The families sat in the courtroom, staring at Hernandez.

Hernandez was identified as appearing before 138th state District Court Judge Arturo C. Nelson to plead guilty. The courtroom statements included references to Hernandez as the man who changed the families’ lives forever.

Police reports described the youths being left for dead after being shot.

Authorities had received information from confidential sources linking Hernandez with the Gulf Cartel and efforts were planned to classify Hernandez as a security threat.