Teen Suspects Indicted for Murder of Jacob Hernandez

SAN ANGELO— Two teen murder suspects were indicted for the shooting death of Jacob Hernandez.

Nicholas Martinez, 18, and Kristopher Lozano, 19, have been indicted by a Tom Green County grand jury for Murder.

According to court documents, in the early morning hours on August 7, 2023, San Angelo police officers responded to the 600 block of East 34th Street regarding a shooting victim. Once on scene, officers located the victim, identified as Jacob Hernandez, deceased, and lying face down in the street. Multiple gunshot wounds were observed on the victim’s body and .45 caliber cartridges were located nearby.

Police were able to obtain video and audio recording from the shooting from an individual who was in the area. In the footage, three gunshots were heard at around 3:46 a.m. Immediately after the shots were fired, two individuals were seen running westbound from the street block. A detailed review of the recording showed two people wearing light colored shirts and dark colored pants or shorts.

During a canvass of the neighborhood, an officer spoke with an individual who advised that her neighbor had texted her around the time of the shooting. Those text messages were obtained, and one witness said that Lozano and the victim were “beefing” and that she had just heard gunshots.

That witness was interviewed, and she identified Lozano as Kristopher Lozano. She also showed a text conversation with the victim who said he was trying to see who all had a problem with him and seemed to imply that if Lozano wanted to fight that he was willing to fight. This conversation occurred about an hour before the shooting.

Police went to the victim’s residence on the 600 block of 35th Street and seized a cellular tablet. After speaking with the victim’s grandmother, she said that the tablet was the only way he was able to communicate with others. Detectives downloaded the contents of the tablet in gathering digital evidence.

The detective discovered Instagram text messages from the profile “kris.223” about an hour and a half before the shooting. A text from Lozano to the victim read “we finna fade”, which referred to a possible fight between the two. The victim replied to Lozano, saying that he was waiting by the back fence and was yelling for Lozano to come “catch this fade”.  This occurred approximately three minutes before the shooting.

Later that day, a handgun was discovered on the 400 block of East 23rd Street. Officers arrived and took custody on the gun, which was a Glock 36 .35 caliber. The complainant of this call said that the gun belonged to Martinez. According to the caller, Martinez informed her that Lozano had come over to the residence at around 4:00 a.m. A CSI technician advised that the cartridges that were found at the scene matched the type found in the handgun.

On August 8, 2023, a search warrant was executed on the residence located on the 400 block of East 23rdStreet. Electronic communication devices that belonged to Martinez were seized. Along with the devices, clothing with possible blood stains was seized as well.

Martinez was arrested and booked into the Tom Green County Jail on August 25, 2023, for Murder and is currently still an inmate being held on $500,000 bond. Lozano was arrested and booked on September 27, 2023, and is currently still an inmate in the Tom Green County Jail. He is being held on $250,000 bond.