Key witness in murder trial in Fresno denies remembering shooting death of Malaga man
A key witness in Wednesday’s preliminary hearing for accused killer Richard Aguilar struggled to remember what he saw the day 52-year-old Javier Fernandez was shot and killed on a residential street in the unincorporated community of Malaga.
The witness, Mario Hernandez, was in a silver Honda CRV along with Aguilar and two others on July 9, 2021, the day Fernandez, a grandfather of six, was fatally shot.
Detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office believe Aguilar, a suspected member of the Calwa gang, was responsible for pulling the trigger. But why the then-18-year-old Aguilar might have fired his handgun at Fernandez remains unclear. Fernandez was sitting in his black Scion with his dog and visiting a friend in the 3000 block of E. Olney Ave.
A previous witness testified on Tuesday that he saw Aguilar fire the handgun that killed Fernandez.
Hernandez appeared nervous as he entered the courtroom.
And as soon as prosecutor Kendall Reynolds began asking him questions, Hernandez’s memory began to fail.
His responses, regardless of the question, were: “I don’t recall,” “I don’t know,” and “I don’t remember.”
Reynolds asked him if he was afraid to be testifying because of what may happen to him? In a shaky voice Hernandez said, “No.”
Hernandez did not remember talking with detective Aurelio Flores the day of the shooting. Reynolds showed him an electronic copy of the report and asked him to read it to himself to refresh his memory. It didn’t help.
“I don’t remember talking to detectives,” he said.
Reynolds reminded him that his mother was also present with him during the interview with detectives. He didn’t remember that either.
During Hernandez’s testimony, the courtroom bailiff escorted someone out of the courtroom for using their phone - a violation of courtroom policy. It’s not clear what they were doing.
After a few tense moments, Hernandez resumed testifying. Defense attorney Miles Harris tried to get him to acknowledge that he knows Aguilar was not the shooter and that someone else in that Honda shot at Fernandez.
“I don’t recall,” was his answer to Harris’s question.
Aguilar was arrested several months after the shooting as part of a crack down on the Calwa gang by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. A total of 14 people were arrested and charged with various crimes, including murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
At the close of the preliminary hearing, Judge Michael Idiart found there was enough evidence to prosecute Aguilar for the murder of Fernandez. Aguilar’s next court date is Feb. 22 in Dept. 32.
This story was originally published February 7, 2024 at 3:48 PM.
