Terry Rivera, left, the man accused of murdering 12-year-old Carlos Fernandez, his ex-girlfriend’s son, right, was arrested Monday at the U.S. border with Mexico, the sheriff’s office said. (Harris County (Tex.) Sheriff’s Office)
Authorities at the U.S.-Mexico border have arrested the man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s 12-year-old son as he broke into an apartment in Houston, Texas.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced the arrest Monday night on X (formerly known as Twitter). Terry Rivera, 27, had an arrest warrant for capital murder in the March 4 death of Carlos Fernandez.
“Outstanding work by all. May 12-year-old Carlos Fernandez Rest In Peace,” Gonzalez tweeted.
Gonzalez said authorities at the Brownsville Port of Entry detained Rivera. He’s currently being held at the Cameron County Jail.
On Sunday, police arrested Rivera’s mother, Alva Cornejo, 51, for hindering apprehension for allegedly helping her son elude arrest in the days after the shooting.
According to a probable cause hearing on Monday, Rivera went to see his mother after the shooting and told her what happened. They were driving together when Cornejo encouraged her son to turn himself in when he jumped out of the car and ran away.
As Law&Crime previously reported, cops allege Cornejo texted someone about an hour later and asked them for assistance in helping her son escape. She also allegedly searched the internet for “how to travel to the border of Mexico,” the judge said at the probable cause hearing. Officials said Cornejo is an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador.
Meanwhile, family members and friends laid Carlos to rest on Monday morning.
“I don’t want everybody to remember Carlos for this senseless tragedy,” Carlos’ uncle Delfino Gonzales told reporters before the funeral. “Remember him for the young man that he was. The protector, the big brother, the big cousin, the great nephew, just being an overall great kid.”
A probable cause arrest affidavit said Carlos’ mother Ashley Rostro told detectives she was sleeping with her boyfriend around 3 a.m. March 4 when she heard someone open the window and a voice she recognized as Rivera’s say “yeah, what’s up, what’s up” before he started shooting. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Carlos heard the yelling, went to investigate and was struck by the gunfire. Carlos suffered gunshot wounds in the arm and torso.
“When he heard the commotion, he could have hidden. He could have ran to mom. Instead, he ran to the danger. He ran to go check on his sisters,” Gonzalez said at a press conference Friday.
Delfino Gonzales at Friday’s press conference described his nephew as “the life of the family” who was always positive.
“He was a protector all the way until the very end. He always protected — whether it was his cousins, his sisters, his mom. He always put everybody else in front of him,” said Delfino Gonzales, who along with other family members wore a T-shirt with his nephew’s picture on it that said “Justice for Carlos.”
Sheriff Gonzalez said deputies were previously called to the apartment for a disturbance involving Rivera about three days before the murder. Rivera allegedly pointed a gun at a vehicle and threatened to shoot it up and assaulted Rostro before fleeing. Detectives say Rivera “forced his way” inside the apartment and stole her handgun which was previously confiscated by police in December 2023 from Rivera and returned to her. But Gonzalez said prosecutors told deputies there was not enough evidence to support an arrest warrant.
Rostro told ABC affiliate KTRK that she begged the sheriff’s office to press charges against Rivera. She had no doubt who fired the fatal shots.
“Just the sound of the window going up, I automatically knew who it was,” she told the outlet.
Gonzalez said it’s a tragedy any time a child is murdered.
“As a father myself my heart breaks. We shouldn’t be burying our children,” he said. “That morning Carlos should have been waking up like many other mornings, getting to school, continuing to learn. It’s not only a loss to the family but also a loss to our community when we lose the promise of a young mind, a young child that could have been something great.”
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