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A homeless man with a history of mental illness and criminal convictions killed a New Mexico cop — seconds before he was gunned down by a witness, police said Tuesday.
Las Cruces Officer Jonah Hernandez, 35, was responding to a trespassing call at a business around 5 p.m. Sunday when he was pounced on by repeat offender Armando Silva.
“When he arrived, Armando Silva immediately attacked him with a large kitchen knife,” Police Chief Jeremy Story said at a press conference.
“For no reason whatsoever, Silva killed Officer Hernandez.”
Silva, 29, then turned his ire on a bystander who had grabbed a firearm from their car after witnessing the “unprovoked attack,” Story said.
The witness fired at least one gunshot, killing Silva.
They then used Hernandez’s radio to call for help. The cop was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Hernandez’s death marks the first of an officer in the line of duty for the Las Cruces Police Department.
According to Story: “Silva had a long history of violent crime and mental illness.”
The homeless man’s criminal history included a 2015 conviction for kidnapping and aggravated battery with great bodily harm against a household member, which resulted in a prison sentence. Silva violated his probation multiple times and was sent back to prison in the following years, Story said.
Hernandez was a two-year veteran of the Las Cruces police force, having graduated from the academy in June 2022 with the department’s largest graduating class.
He leaves behind his wife, Yesenia Lopez, and two sons, 10-year-old Sebastian Jonah and 2-year-old Joaquin Leonel.
Hernandez was the 14th officer killed in the line of duty in the US this year, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, but the first ever killed on the Las Cruces force in its 96-year history.
The department mourned Hernandez with a lengthy police escort Tuesday that traveled the 46 miles to the fallen officer’s home in El Paso.
“We, as a law enforcement agency, are still trying to process the sudden and senseless death of one of our officers,” said Story. “This isn’t something you practice or are accustomed to.
“Officer Jonah Hernandez was a compassionate and dedicated officer who was out doing his job while most of us were watching the Super Bowl. Jonah was attacked while making contact with the subject of a trespassing call. This sudden and unprovoked attack took the life of an officer, a husband, a father, brother, son, a friend and a great young man.”
Police do not plan to recommend charges against the witness, who has not been identified, for gunning down Silva.
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