Luis Sotero Herrera, a 34-year-old Hispanic/Latino man from Madison, Wisconsin, was killed during the early morning hours of January 25, 2026, in a shooting on the city’s south side. At approximately 3:30 a.m., Madison police were dispatched to the 400 block of Primrose Lane after reports of gunfire and a person down in the roadway. Officers found Herrera suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and immediately attempted lifesaving measures, but he died at the scene.
Police quickly classified the death as a homicide investigation and said the evidence indicated Herrera had been deliberately targeted rather than struck during a random act of violence.
Investigators determined that the shooting occurred following some type of disturbance and that Herrera and the suspected gunman knew one another. Detectives began reviewing security footage and other digital evidence while executing numerous search warrants and processing physical evidence connected with the shooting. Within approximately four hours, investigators identified Jorge Eleodoro Baez as the suspected shooter. Baez was no longer at the Primrose Lane scene when officers arrived, but police tracked him to a hotel on Tradewinds Parkway and took him into custody. He was subsequently booked into the Dane County Jail on an allegation of first-degree intentional homicide.
As the investigation developed, police disclosed a family connection between Herrera and the people arrested. Melissa Britt Basilo Ruiz, Baez’s daughter, had previously dated Herrera. Ruiz was also arrested as part of the investigation, initially on allegations involving possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Authorities did not publicly accuse Ruiz of personally shooting Herrera. Later court reporting indicated that her case included multiple felony counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, bail jumping allegations, and an accusation of harboring or aiding a felon.
The case against Baez became more serious during his initial court proceedings. Prosecutors told the court that investigators possessed video evidence showing Baez walking around with a firearm before and after Herrera was killed. A prosecutor also stated that authorities had a video-recorded confession from Baez concerning the killing. Because of the seriousness of the accusation and the evidence described by prosecutors, a judge set Baez’s cash bail at $2 million and ordered him to surrender any travel documents.
On February 24, 2026, Baez appeared for a preliminary hearing in Dane County Circuit Court. Judge Payal Khandhar found probable cause for the prosecution to continue and ordered him bound over for trial on the first-degree intentional homicide charge. Ruiz also appeared for a preliminary hearing that day, and the judge similarly found sufficient probable cause for her criminal case to proceed. The court’s ruling was not a finding of guilt; it meant prosecutors had presented enough evidence at that stage to continue pursuing the charges.
Baez later appeared in court on March 24, when his attorneys entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to the first-degree intentional homicide charge. At that time, the case remained pending and a pretrial conference was scheduled for June 30. Ruiz’s case was also continuing separately. Publicly available reporting located through September 2026 does not show that Baez has been convicted or that a homicide trial has reached a verdict. Dane County Sheriff’s Office records continued to list Eleodoro Jorge Baez among current jail residents, indicating that he remained in custody while the criminal proceedings continued.
Herrera’s family later described his death as unexpected and remembered him as someone deeply devoted to his parents, siblings, nieces, nephews and friends. Born in Mexico, he had come to Madison in 2008 to join relatives and built his life there over the years. His death left his family mourning a man they described as a loyal friend, loving brother and affectionate uncle whose plans included helping care for his parents.
