Suspected killer returned to Cameron County

One of Brownsville's most wanted fugitives, Ricardo "El Boy" Hernandez, appeared before a judge Tuesday morning for a detention hearing on his 1998 capital murder case, in which the judge ruled he be remanded to custody in the county jail.

Hernandez, 25, was turned over to Brownsville police detectives at the B&M International Bridge Monday night after being apprehended by Mexican authorities earlier that day, Police Chief Carlos Garcia said.

Hernandez is accused of killing 14-year-old Jason Sexton, 18-year-old Roberto Moreno and 19-year-old Ricardo Mata on Minnesota Road on the night of April 25, 1998, according to Herald archives.

Lorenzo Lopez, Moreno's cousin, spoke out Tuesday about Hernandez's capture.

"Well, I feel very happy that he has been apprehended, especially for my aunt," he said of Moreno's mom, Irma Moreno. "It brings some closure, but you can't really call it closure because you can never bring my cousin back."

Lopez hopes Hernandez will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Shortly after 11:35 a.m. Tuesday, Hernandez was read his Miranda rights by Judge Benjamin Euresti of the 107th state District Court, who ordered he be held without bond at the Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center in Olmito.

Euresti told Hernandez that if found guilty of the three counts of capital murder, he could face life in prison or death by lethal injection.

Hernandez was represented by attorney Edgar Juarez, who instructed him not to talk to police detectives without having an attorney present.

A prosecutor with the Cameron County District Attorney's Office made an oral motion for Hernandez to undergo a psychological evaluation. Euresti granted his motion.

Chief First Assistant District Attorney, Chuck Mattingly, said he could not comment on the case because Hernandez allegedly killed the teens when he was a juvenile.

Since Hernandez was 15, when he allegedly killed the teens, police detectives could not release his identity or picture because state law prohibited them from doing so.

Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, sponsored a bill that that was passed in 1999, which allows law enforcement agencies to release the identities and photos of juveniles who are fugitives.

The night of the killing, Hernandez traveled on Billy Mitchell Boulevard in a Ford Mustang with 18-year-old Christopher Carrera.

Sexton, Moreno and Mata, who traveled in a Chevrolet Camaro, drag raced the Mustang near Billy Mitchell Boulevard, according to Herald archives.

Carrera was sentenced in 2004 to 15 years in prison for his involvement in the triple murder.

After drag racing, the teens in the Camaro allegedly asked Hernandez if he knew where they could get some beer and marijuana. The cars pulled up to Minnesota Road, where Hernandez allegedly shot the three.

Mata and Moreno were found lying near Moreno's Camaro and Sexton was found lying in a small ditch a few yards away, according to police reports.

Although it will be 10 years next month since Hernandez allegedly killed the three teens, Moreno's cousin, Lopez, still ponders about what happened that night on Minnesota Road.

"We really want to know what happened," he said. "There (are) five people that know what happen and three of them are already dead.

"I hope we can find out what really happened."