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An escaped California killer convicted in a Los Angeles County murder and sought in connection with a shootout in Tijuana that killed a law enforcement officer is in custody, according to authorities in Mexico.
The Attorney’s General Office of the State of Baja California planned to provide more details on the arrest of Cesar Hernandez at a noon PT news conference. Hernandez was taken into custody Thursday night, but details about what led to the arrest, including the location, were not immediately available.
Hernandez, 34, escaped from custody Dec. 2, 2024 before a court appearance in the Kern County community of Delano. He was serving a life sentence of 80 years to life for first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a man outside a South Los Angeles bar.
He was sought by authorities in Mexico for the April 9 shooting death of police commander Abigail Esparza during an attempt by Mexican law enforcement to arrest him in Tijuana. Members of the U.S. Marshals Service were in the area, but not involved in the shootout, the agency said.
Video showed law enforcement officers and vehicles stopped near an intersection at the scene of the shootout in the Colonia Barcelona neighborhood of Tijuana, about 30 miles south of San Diego.
It was not immediately clear whether Hernandez will be returned to custody in California.
“Cesar ‘N’ is currently facing criminal proceedings, and his legal situation will be determined as set out by law,” according to the prosecutor’s office.
Hernandez, 34, was convicted of shooting a man after leaving a bar in South Los Angeles, according to appellate court filings obtained by the Associated Press. The victim was at the bar and, as he drove away, Hernandez was seen following him in his car before getting out to shoot him.
Details about a motive for the shooting were not included in the court filing, the AP reported.
Hernandez was transferred from Los Angeles County custody to Kern County on June 27, 2019. He was sentenced to 80 years to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, a second-strike offense, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Video showed Hernandez’s escape last year in the community about 140 miles north of Los Angeles.
It showed Hernandez, dressed in orange prison pants and shirt, running in an empty field with an officer well behind.
Authorities said at the time Hernandez somehow obtained a handcuff key, possibly one he made, to remove his handcuffs before punching a guard and running through an open gate in the transfer parking lot of the Kern County Superior Courthouse.
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