Man calls ex-wife to explain why he killed her new boyfriend, Nevada police say
A man called his ex-wife to explain why he killed her new boyfriend as he held her brother hostage, Nevada police say.
Jose Alexis Cabrera Hernandez, 49, called his ex-wife four times on Friday, Nov. 4, while driving with the woman’s brother, who was being held hostage, in the car, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Andrew Walsh said in a news briefing.
“He admitted to killing her new boyfriend because he was getting in the way of them repairing their relationship and getting back together,” Walsh said.
Cabrera Hernandez went on to tell his ex-wife that “he would trade her brother in exchange for his passport and for her so that they could go to Mexico together and repair their relationship,” according to Walsh.
Police first responded to a home on Kipling Street at 12:21 p.m. on Nov. 4 after getting a 911 call about a shooting, a Nov. 8 news release from the department said. Police later learned Cabrera Hernandez fired six rounds during the fatal shooting, according to Walsh.
Officers arrived to find a man with “multiple gunshot wounds,” who was pronounced dead on scene, according to the news release.
Police said they “quickly learned” the man “had been shot by his girlfriend’s ex-husband.”
Cabrera Hernandez’s vehicle, occupied by him and the hostage, who police later learned was “zip tied” inside the SUV, was later found in an alley in downtown Las Vegas, Walsh said.
“Due to the fact that detectives believed Cabrera Hernandez was armed and still holding a hostage, SWAT was requested to assist,” Walsh said.
Cabrera Hernandez left the area and “drove throughout the Valley for approximately one hour” as “detectives and the air unit covertly surveilled and followed” him, Walsh said. It was during this time that he called his ex-wife multiple times.
Shortly before 9 p.m., Cabrera Hernandez pulled into a business complex parking lot, and he and the hostage left the SUV shortly after, Walsh said.
As SWAT units were arriving, Cabrera Hernandez forced the hostage back into the car, Walsh said. He tried to drive away, but SWAT vehicles blocked his vehicle, preventing him from leaving.
While trying to rescue the hostage, an officer fired one round into the car at Cabrera Hernandez, Walsh said.
“The hostage was rescued from the vehicle unharmed,” Walsh said.
The hostage later told police that he feared Cabrera Hernandez would kill him, Walsh said.
Despite “life saving measures,” Cabrera Hernandez was pronounced dead on scene, according to Walsh. Had Cabrera Hernandez lived, he would have been charged with “murder, kidnapping, and two counts of own or possess a gun by a prohibited person.”
Police continue to investigate, and an “examination of this incident” in underway, the release said.
“This review focuses on policy, tactics, and training as it relates to this use of force,” police said.
This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 2:33 PM.
