In the late hours of a Monday night, a single gunshot shattered the quiet of a home in Moses Lake, Washington, leaving 21-year-old Thomas Hernandez dead from a wound to his upper body. The fatal shooting occurred on May 2, 2016, inside a residence on Neppel Road Northeast, setting in motion an investigation that would lead to an arrest and a claim of self-defense.
Deputies from the Grant County Sheriff's Office arrived at the scene to find Hernandez deceased.
The initial call to emergency dispatch came from a woman who reported the shooting at her home. She told authorities that her son, Jesse James, 23, had shot an unknown man inside the house.
According to court records, the woman stated she was in her bedroom when she heard two loud noises. She believed the first was someone at the front door and the second was a gunshot, though she did not hear any commotion beforehand. Upon entering the living room, she found Hernandez on the floor and her son in the kitchen and living room area. Another man who was asleep in the residence at the time told deputies he was awakened by a loud noise and found Hernandez on the floor with a gunshot wound. He said that when he asked James what happened, James replied, "he was gonna rob us" and "he kicked my door in."
James was arrested in connection with the shooting and faced potential charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and tampering with evidence. He claimed that Hernandez had become angry with him earlier in the day after their plans had fallen through and had attempted to take a gun from James's waistband. James alleged that Hernandez was breaking into his home at the time of the shooting. During a search of the residence, deputies found unfired 9mm bullets, pistol magazines, and a fired slug, but they did not locate a 9mm pistol or any expended cartridge casings. The investigation continued as prosecutors weighed formal charges against James.
