Suspect pleads guilty in murder

After his getaway driver pled guilty, the alleged gunman in a 2015 murder in Madera has followed suit, and is now awaiting sentencing.

In Madera County Superior Court on Thursday, the suspect, Kevin Rendon, 20, entered a plea of guilty for the fatal shooting of Fabian Hernandez, 35, along with gang enhancements. Madera Deputy District Attorney Rachel Cartier prosecuted the case.

“This is an example of gang crime that unfortunately occurs in Madera,” said Madera County District Attorney David A. Linn. “And the District Attorney’s Office, along with Madera Police, and the Madera County Sheriff’s Department will do everything possible to eliminate gang crime in the Central Valley.”

Rendon’s plea came after his alleged accomplice, getaway driver Oscar Reyes, 21, pled guilty on Sept. 15 for his part in the murder. Reyes also pled guilty to another shooting that occurred eight days after Hernandez was killed, in which he reportedly acted as the shooter. The shots fired in this later incident resulted in the victim being paralyzed from the neck down.

According to Madera Police Det. Shant Sheklanian, Hernandez was fatally shot on June 18, 2015, in the living room of his home at 1110 Lacreta Ave, at which a barrage of gunfire was aimed. Rendon was arrested on May 27, nearly a year after the shooting took place. Reyes, who was already in jail for the June 26 shooting, was found to be his accomplice.

“It was a difficult case to solve — there weren’t a whole lot of witnesses available, at, or near the time of the incident,” Sheklanian said. “It took a lot of effort on behalf of the Detective Division, and the Special Investigations Unit here at the Madera Police Department, working the leads as they became available, to culminate in the identification of the suspects.”

Rendon and Reyes have been ordered by Judge Dale J. Blea to return to return on Nov. 4 for sentencing, along with Victor Sanchez, 17, who pled guilty to driving the getaway vehicle for Reyes in the second shooting.