DELANO, Calif. (KERO) — On December 2 2024, Cesar Hernandez was set to appear for a hearing at the Kern County Superior Court, but managed to escape. On April 9, he was spotted in Tijuana involved in a deadly shooting.
- On April 9, Mexican news outlets were able to confirm the shootout Cesar Hernandez was involved in led to the killing of officer Abigail Esparza Reyes.
- CCTV footage shows Hernandez running down a street without a shirt and getting into a covered vehicle, he comes out later wearing some sort of uniform.
- More CCTV footage shows Hernandez casually walking away from the scene.
On December 2, 2024, Cesar Hernandez was set to appear for a hearing at the Kern County Superior Court in Delano. However, he managed to escape from the van he was being transported in. Here’s what we now know, at some point Hernandez left Delano and made his way south 283 miles to the Mexican border. He then crossed over into Tijuana, where on Wednesday he was involved in a deadly shootout and he managed to escape again.
On April 9, Mexican news outlets were able to confirm the shootout Cesar Hernandez was involved in led to the killing of officer Abigail Esparza Reyes.
Hernandez was convicted on a first degree murder charge in Los Angeles back in 2019.
Officer Reyes was part of a fugitive Taskforce Responsible for tracking down escaped fugitives from the U.S who have crossed the border to flee.
We now know it was the U.S Marshall service that requested help from Mexican authorities to apprehend Cesar Hernandez.
The U.S Marshall service tells 23ABC while they were not involved in the shooting, they were on site where medical personnel administered aid to Commander Reyes but ultimately succumbed to her injuries.
Receiving video from the news outlet Punto Norte, we have a general idea of what happened after the shootout.
CCTV footage shows Hernandez running down a street without a shirt and getting into a covered vehicle, he comes out later wearing some sort of uniform.
More CCTV footage shows Hernandez casually walking away from the scene.
It’s still unclear as to how Hernandez managed to escape yet again, however speaking with Monserrat Peraza, the reporter on site for Punto Norte, she describes her idea.
“When he shot the officer in the neck and bullets were going everywhere, that’s when other officers started to focus their attention on her to take her to the hospital. I think that’s when he decided to flee,” said Peraza.
The governor of Baja California State, Marina del Pilar, released a statement regarding the death of Officer Reyes, reading in part quote,
“I deeply regret the death of the Agent of the State Citizen Security Force, Abigail Esparza Reyes, at the time of participating in an operation to comply with an arrest warrant that is currently being carried out.
Our wishes for prompt resignation are with you, Abigail's life will be honored and her death will not go unpunished.”
According to the U.S Marshall Service, they will continue to work with Mexican authorities to capture Hernandez. As of April 10, he remains on the loose.
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