An argument at a pizza restaurant in Plant City, Florida, escalated into a fatal roadway altercation that ended the life of 45-year-old Jesus De La Cruz Hernandez. Born in Montemorelos, Mexico, on February 3, 1981, Hernandez was known as a loving, funny, and friendly man who enjoyed working on cars, riding jet skis, and motorcycles. His life, however, was cut short on the evening of Saturday, May 9, 2026. The conflict began around 6 p.m. at Mo's Pizza Kitchen on East Baker Street, where Hernandez got into a dispute with 19-year-old Kenny Morales-Garcia regarding Morales-Garcia dating Hernandez's stepdaughter. Security footage captured the two men arguing while Hernandez sat in his GMC pickup and Morales-Garcia stood outside.
Following the initial confrontation, Hernandez drove away from the pizzeria, but Morales-Garcia and his girlfriend followed in his Ford pickup. What ensued was a dangerous "roadway altercation," with both men tailgating and cutting each other off as they drove west on West Baker Street. After dropping off his girlfriend at her apartment, Morales-Garcia continued to pursue Hernandez. The chase moved along West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, onto North Alexander Street, and then back to West Baker Street. At approximately 6:15 p.m., at the intersection of Baker Street and Thonotosassa Road, the pursuit reached its tragic conclusion. A traffic camera recorded the moment Morales-Garcia pulled into a turn lane beside Hernandez's stopped vehicle and fired multiple shots from his open passenger window into the driver's side of Hernandez's truck.
Jesus De La Cruz Hernandez was struck by bullets in the arm and head. Plant City police officers who responded to reports of the shooting found him inside his vehicle with gunshot wounds and immediately began life-saving measures until paramedics arrived. Hernandez was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries the following day. Morales-Garcia fled the scene after the shooting. Investigators located his pickup truck parked near a home on Pine Oak Drive shortly after midnight and, upon obtaining a search warrant, discovered five shell casings in the cab and a receipt from Mo's Pizza from the time of the argument. Two days after the shooting, on Monday, May 11, 2026, Kenny Morales-Garcia, accompanied by his attorney, turned himself in to the Plant City Police Department. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, throwing a deadly missile at or within a vehicle, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and criminal mischief. As of his arrest, he was being held without bond. The case against Morales-Garcia is now pending in the judicial system.
