Jesus Antonio Hernandez Castro was a responsible and hardworking 22-year-old man who was deeply loved by his family. Known to them as "Toño," the young Caucasian male lived with his parents, two sisters, and his dog. On the morning of January 2, 2023, he was scheduled to have breakfast with his family, but he never arrived.
In the early hours of that morning, a verbal argument between Hernandez Castro and his roommate escalated inside their converted garage apartment in Las Vegas.
The dispute, which took place on the 3500 block of San Francisco Avenue, turned into a physical altercation. During the struggle, Hernandez Castro was shot. The Clark County Coroner’s Office would later determine he died from a gunshot wound to the neck and rule his death a homicide.
At approximately 5:45 a.m., the roommate, 24-year-old Jesus Mendoza-Zarate, called 911 and reported that his friend had taken his own life. When Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived, they found Hernandez Castro deceased. However, officers at the scene noted that the evidence did not align with a suicide and called in homicide detectives.
During questioning at police headquarters, Mendoza-Zarate’s story began to change. He first told detectives he had woken up after a night of drinking to find Hernandez Castro on the floor with a gun beside him. When confronted with inconsistencies, including injuries to his own elbows, shoulder, and back, as well as apparent blood on his clothing and hands, his account shifted. He then admitted to a physical struggle over his gun, claiming it discharged accidentally. He also confessed to waiting an hour before calling 911 because he was scared. According to the police report, Mendoza-Zarate repeatedly lied throughout the interview, changing his story each time detectives confronted him with new evidence.
Following the interview, police arrested Jesus Mendoza-Zarate and booked him into the Clark County Detention Center on a charge of open murder. As of January 2023, the case was proceeding through the court system.
