Ashland man accepts plea deal for fatal shooting at Omaha apartment complex last summer

From the What you missed last week in notable Omaha crimes and court cases series

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An Ashland man pleaded no contest Wednesday to reduced charges related to a July 2023 shooting of two men at a southwest Omaha apartment complex.

Luis Hernandez-Melendez, 35, pleaded to charges of second-degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and first-degree assault. He was initially charged with first-degree murder for the killing of 28-year-old Luis Romero-Rodriguez, but the charge was reduced as part of the plea deal. Prosecutors also dropped an additional count of use of a firearm to commit a felony.

Two other people — Hernandez-Melendez’s wife, Valeria Vasquez, and nephew, Alvin Melendez — face accessory charges in relation to the shooting. They are both awaiting trial.

Hernandez-Melendez is scheduled to be sentenced in August. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 26 years.

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According to court documents:

Police were called to the Citadel Apartments on the evening of July 23, 2023, to reports of two men shot in the head inside a Mazda sedan.

Romero-Rodriguez, who was in the back seat of the Mazda, was declared dead at the scene. Jose Lapop-Flores, 24, who was in the driver’s seat, was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The extent of his injuries have not been made public.

A nearby surveillance camera captured parts of the shooting. The video showed three vehicles — a white Ford pickup truck, the white Mazda sedan, and a gray SUV — driving “in a procession with each other” before all three cars pulled into the back of the Citadel Apartments parking lot.

The video captured a man in a red shirt near the Mazda before two gunshots rang out. The gray SUV and the white truck both fled from the scene after shots were fired.

Melendez was located July 25 and agreed to be interviewed by detectives. He said that, on the day of the homicide, he received a phone call from Hernandez-Melendez asking for a ride.

When Melendez arrived at a gas station near 72nd and Grover Streets to pick up his uncle, he noted several people were present: Romero-Rodriguez and Lapop-Flores, the two shooting victims; Hernandez-Melendez and his wife, Vasquez; and three other associates of Hernandez-Melendez.

Melendez said Hernandez-Melendez got in the pickup truck and drove to the Citadel Apartments with Romero-Rodriguez and Lapop-Flores following behind in the white Mazda. Vasquez and two others followed in the gray SUV.

According to Melendez, Hernandez-Melendez got out of the pickup truck after they arrived at the apartment complex and fired twice at the white Mazda. They then fled from the scene, and Hernandez-Melendez and Vasquez returned to their home in Ashland.

Police made contact with Hernandez-Melendez, Vasquez and two other parties at the home in Ashland on July 25, and all four were transported to OPD headquarters to be interviewed. Hernandez-Melendez’s cousin and friend, who were in the gray SUV, told officers that Hernandez-Melendez had shot the two men in the Citadel Apartments parking lot.

Vasquez initially denied being present for a shooting, but later revised her story and said she saw her husband shoot the victims as they sat inside their vehicle.

Prosecutors said at an initial appearance for Hernandez-Melendez that he agreed to speak with police after his arrest and admitted to shooting the two men because he was upset about a “botched” cocaine deal.

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Melendez

Omaha Police Department

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Hernandez-Melendez

Omaha Police Department

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Vasquez

Omaha Police Department

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