Fresno County DA won’t pursue lesser charges against man acquitted of double murder
The Fresno County District Attorney’s office has dropped all remaining charges against Cruz Hinojosa, who was acquitted last month of killing two men at a Tower District tattoo shop.
Hinojosa, 31, was expected to be released Thursday afternoon from the Fresno County Jail. He has been in custody since he was arrested for the double murder in July 2018.
Had he been convicted, he was facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Hinojosa, a tattoo artist at Fresh Ink Tattoo on Olive Avenue, was charged with fatally shooting the shop’s owner Pisa Xayapheth, 30, and co-worker 35-year-old Jesse Hernandez III.
He pleaded not guilty. During his trial he argued that he shot the two men in self-defense after he was attacked inside the shop on July 14, 2018.
A jury agreed and on Feb. 17 they found him not guilty of murder and attempted murder. But Hinojosa was not a free man, yet.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s office had the option of going back to court to try and get a conviction on voluntary manslaughter and attempted voluntary manslaughter.
On Thursday, Deputy District Attorney David Olmos chose to dismiss the case.
Hinojosa’s defense attorneys, Marina Pincus and Maribel Romo, supported the decision not to pursue another trial.
“We understand that this was a difficult decision for the District Attorney’s office to make but we believe it is the right decision. A lot of assumptions by the public were made but this was a case of self defense and was always a case of self defense,” the lawyers said in a statement.
“Two people lost their lives and Mr. Hinojosa will carry that with him for the rest of his life. He hopes that the healing process can begin for all families. We at the Public Defender’s office will continue to fight for justice in all cases”
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 3:56 PM.
