In the early hours of a February morning in Las Vegas, a violent chain of events led to the tragic death of 30-year-old Terrell Thomas Jones, a Black / African American male. On February 6, 2018, Joseph Fernandez forcibly entered a home in the western part of the city. Once inside, he shot Jones multiple times before abducting his ex-girlfriend, who was also in the residence.
Following the shooting, Fernandez forced the woman into a BMW and drove away from the scene.
Jones was rushed to University Medical Center, but he ultimately succumbed to his injuries. The abduction that followed the shooting was mercifully brief for the female victim, who managed to escape and call for help from a nearby store.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department quickly launched an investigation that led them to Fernandez and an accomplice, Jessica Tolentino-Arciga. Fernandez was apprehended while driving the same BMW used in the abduction. Tolentino-Arciga was taken into custody at an apartment where the kidnapped woman had been held. Both Fernandez and Tolentino-Arciga were subsequently arrested and faced charges of murder and kidnapping for their roles in the events that led to the death of Terrell Thomas Jones.
