Second arrest made in San Angelo burglary turned homicide; new details reveal plan

SAN ANGELO — Eight months after a 26-year-old man was fatally shot during an attempted burglary, phone records have led to a second arrest.

David Alexander Rodriguez, 23, was arrested late Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, on suspicion of murder. He remained in Tom Green County Detention Center in lieu of a $1 million bond as of 10 p.m. Friday, according to online jail records.

The murder charge stems from May 26, 2021, the same day Jacob Hernandez, 26, was fatally shot after an attempted burglary.

Francisco Josiah Morales, 17, of Abilene, was the first arrest in the case on June 17 and is facing capital murder by other felony.

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Phone records, new interviews detail what led to Hernandez's death, two arrests

On Dec. 1, 2021, police interviewed Morales in Taylor County Jail. He said he had been communicating with another man, who he refused to identify, from May 25-26 about committing a "lick," a "criminal incident," according to court documents.

Investigators spoke to two witnesses on June 22 who stated they and Morales traveled to San Angelo. They arrived at a house where a man, later identified as Rodriguez, entered the vehicle and drove them to a location where Morales picked up a gun, records state.

They then drove to Lillie Street and entered the apartment, where Morales said he fired the gun and left it in the area.

Investigators obtained Facebook messages and phone data from Morales and the witnesses, which led them to Rodriguez. While messages had been deleted, phone records placed Rodriguez with the group at Lillie Street around 3:20 a.m. May 26.

Video surveillance from the apartment also showed a "dark colored" sedan enter the parking lot and two people "wearing garments and face coverings to hide their identities" enter the apartment, records state.

About 3:24 a.m. May 26, 2021, police arrived at an apartment in the 2400 block of Lillie Street to a reported shooting. An officer found a gun on the apartment's steps, and damage to the front door frame and lock, according to an arrest affidavit.

Officers found Jacob Hernandez, 26, laying on his back on a bed with a fatal gunshot wound to the chest.

How a necklace and backpack led to an Abilene teen's arrest

As investigators searched the area, they found an Adidas backpack and a locket, which held a photo of a woman. This led them to a relative of the woman, who stated her grandchildren received these pendants on May 8.

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The pendant's owner told investigators he had "exchanged property" with another man, and the necklace ended up in the backpack.

Later, investigators met with a Bronte woman, who said Francisco Josiah Morales, 17, of Abilene, "shot out" the window of her 2011 Hyundai Elantra sedan and took it without her consent on May 23. He was arrested in Concho County with an Adidas backpack and wearing clothes similar to those in the apartment video, records state.

Another woman told officers she picked the teen up from jail on May 23 and they went to Abilene. The teen left after their return.

A search of the teen's Abilene residence revealed clothes matching those from the video. Investigators also discovered a cell phone the teen used was in the area of the May shooting.

Morales was arrested in Abilene on June 17 on suspicion of murder in Tom Green County. In September, he was indicted on capital murder by other felony. The indictment listed Morales lived at an Abilene address and intentionally shot Hernandez to death while attempting to commit burglary of a habitation, according to the indictment.

A capital murder charge is punishable by 5-99 years, with a maximum penalty of death. A court date has not been scheduled in the case.

Case coverage timeline:

Dec. 28:Multiple homicides hit the San Angelo area in 2021: Here's a look at those cases

Sept. 17:Abilene teen facing possible death sentence after fatal San Angelo shooting

June 22:Details emerge in San Angelo shooting death of Jacob Hernandez, teen's arrest

June 18:17-year-old arrested in connection to May homicide in San Angelo

May 27:San Angelo Police identify body of homicide victim from early morning shooting

May 26:San Angelo police investigating shooting death

Alana Edgin is a journalist covering Crime and Courts in West Texas. Send her a news tip at aedgin@gannett.com.