On a tragic evening in Phoenix, Arizona, a 34-year-old Hispanic man named Eric Frank Hernandez lost his life in a senseless act of violence. The events of February 13, 2019, unfolded outside a McDonald's restaurant near the intersection of 19th Avenue and Baseline Road, forever altering the lives of those involved. Hernandez, a father and a graduate of Trevor Brown High School who worked as a freelance electrician, was fatally shot in a dispute over a cellphone.
The encounter began when
Hernandez allowed another man, later identified as Keesean Kapri Jones, to borrow his cellphone. A conflict ensued, and as Jones fled with the device, Hernandez gave chase. It was during this pursuit that Jones produced a firearm and shot Hernandez, inflicting a fatal wound. The incident left the community in shock and prompted a swift investigation by Phoenix police.
In the weeks that followed, law enforcement worked diligently to identify and apprehend the person responsible for Hernandez's death. Their investigation led them to Keesean Kapri Jones, who was located and arrested in Gilbert, Arizona, in mid-March 2019. Following his arrest, Jones admitted to his involvement in the shooting and was taken into custody at the Maricopa County Jail.
The legal process culminated in 2021 when Keesean Kapri Jones entered into a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter for the death of Eric Hernandez. According to the terms of the agreement, he faced a sentencing range of a minimum of seven years to a maximum of twenty-one years in prison. Ultimately, the court sentenced Jones to a fifteen-year prison term for his role in the fatal shooting, bringing a measure of closure to a case that began with a stolen cellphone and ended in a heartbreaking loss of life.
