Suspects involved in Hatch officer shooting have lengthy criminal records
The Dona Ana Sheriffs Office held a news conference Saturday releasing new details about the two men involved in Friday’s alleged shooting of Officer Jose Chavez.
ABC-7 learned the suspects involved in Friday’s alleged shooting are wanted for murder in Ohio. ABC-7 also got details on the suspects’ criminal history:
“These criminals that came into our county, our town, they came out and terrorized our communities out here,” said Las Cruces Sheriff Kiki Vigil.
Officials with the Dona Ana Sheriffs Office, or DASO, began Saturday’s news conference with heavy hearts.
“As you can imagine this has required a lot of our department,” said DASO spokeswoman Kelly Jameson.
Officials say 38-year-old Jesse D. Hanes, whose last known address was in Columbus, Ohio, currently faces one count of willful and deliberate first-degree murder in Ohio for the death of a 62-year-old-man found shot in his home in July.
Ohio media outlet, The Chillicothe Gazette, reported that at the age of 16, Hanes pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary. He was allegedly in prison until he was 32.
Criminal background records obtained by ABC-7 reveal in 2014, Hanes was charged with aggravated robbery and was sentenced to three years in prison.
The Gazette reports he was let out on parole in 2015.
36-year-old James D. Nelson, who was with Hanes at the time of the alleged shooting, is also wanted in connection with the murder of the 62-year-old man in Ohio.
The Gazette reports Nelson has multiple convictions, including aggravated trafficking in 1995 and burglary in 1997. In 2013, court records show he was convicted in two separate cases of possession of drugs.
Officials say the third man who was in the vehicle when officer Chavez was shot is not a suspect at this time.
“It appears that male was a hitchhiker who had caught a ride from these two. He’s considered a witness at this time and is not being charged,” Jameson said.
Nelson will face murder charges for the death of officer Chavez and officials say more charges will likely come as the investigation continues.
