Inset left: Raymond Hernandez (Bexar County Adult Detention Center). Inset right: Leonel Chavez, Jr. (Rose Garden Funeral Home). Background: A section of the 800 block of West Baetz Boulevard in San Antonio, Texas (Google Maps).
A man has learned his fate in Texas for gunning down a tattoo artist during an argument and then walking away with the murder weapon.
Raymond Hernandez, 33, was sentenced by Texas' 290th Criminal District Court Judge Jennifer Pena to 45 years in prison, the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney's Office announced.
The defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder for the years-ago death of 46-year-old Leonel Chavez, Jr.
On April 2, 2021, Chavez was at a friend's house on the 800 block of West Baetz Boulevard in San Antonio. The victim was a tattoo artist, and he was giving someone a tattoo at the time.
Hernandez was also there, and according to the DA's office, an argument broke out between the suspect and the victim. Hernandez is said to have pulled out a gun, aimed, and fired at Chavez.
The witness there said they "heard the gunshot, watched Chavez fall from his injuries, and reported the shooting after confronting Hernandez." The defendant, for his part, "fled the scene," and was captured on surveillance footage less than a mile from the home still holding the murder weapon.
Hernandez was arrested. On the day in question, he had also been at the residence to get a tattoo when he killed Chavez, according to San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT.
The district attorney celebrated the guilty verdict.
"Today's conviction and sentencing uphold our commitment to holding offenders accountable and reassure our community that we will continue to work diligently to protect and serve," Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said.