Raymond Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2021 shooting death of Leonel Chavez Jr.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A Bexar County judge sentenced Raymond Hernandez to 45 years in prison after prosecutors said he shot tattoo artist Leonel Chavez Jr. during an argument at a South Side home in 2021.

The sentence brings a long-running murder case to a close more than five years after Chavez, 46, was killed during what began as a tattoo visit. Hernandez, 33, was found guilty of first-degree murder before Judge Jennifer Pena of the 290th Criminal District Court imposed the prison term. The Bexar County Criminal District Attorney’s Office said the case centered on a sudden dispute, a gunshot and evidence that Hernandez left the home still carrying the weapon.

The killing happened on April 2, 2021, at a residence in the 800 block of West Baetz Boulevard, near Commercial Avenue. Chavez was at the home working as a tattoo artist when Hernandez, who also had gone there to get tattoo work done, became involved in an argument with him, prosecutors said. The gathering was not described as a public shop appointment but as a private setting inside or near a friend’s house. Authorities said the argument escalated when Hernandez pulled out a gun and fired. A witness later described hearing the gunshot, seeing Chavez fall and confronting Hernandez before the shooting was reported to police.

Hernandez did not remain at the scene, according to prosecutors. Authorities said he walked away from the West Baetz Boulevard home with the firearm after the shooting. Surveillance footage later showed him less than a mile away, still holding the gun that investigators identified as the murder weapon. Police soon took him into custody, and local reports from the time said officers found him several blocks from the shooting scene with a gun. Chavez died from his injuries. Officials have not released a full public account of the words exchanged before the shooting, and the exact trigger for the argument remains limited to the statements made in court records and by prosecutors.

The verdict and sentence turned the 2021 South Side shooting from an open homicide case into a punishment judgment. Under Texas law, murder is generally charged as a first-degree felony. A conviction can carry a prison term of five to 99 years or life. Hernandez’s 45-year sentence falls in the middle of that range but still amounts to decades in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The district attorney’s office announced the sentence after the conviction, saying the punishment reflected the seriousness of the fatal shooting and the evidence presented in court.

Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said the result showed that violent offenders would be held responsible. “Today’s conviction and sentencing uphold our commitment to holding offenders accountable and reassure our community that we will continue to work diligently to protect and serve,” Gonzales said. The statement did not describe any plea agreement. It described a conviction and sentencing, with Hernandez punished for first-degree murder in Chavez’s death. Court officials did not immediately announce any separate penalty tied to carrying or possessing the gun after the shooting.

The case drew attention because of the ordinary setting in which the killing began. Chavez was not killed during a robbery or a planned public confrontation, according to the public account from prosecutors. He was doing tattoo work at a home when an argument broke out. The 800 block of West Baetz Boulevard is in a residential part of the city’s South Side, where homes sit near neighborhood streets and businesses along Commercial Avenue. A private tattoo session there became the site of a homicide investigation after one shot sent neighbors and witnesses into contact with police.

Investigators relied on people at the home, the immediate report of the gunfire and video footage from nearby surveillance cameras, according to public summaries of the case. The witness account placed Hernandez with Chavez at the time of the argument and described the moments after the shot. The surveillance footage added movement after the shooting, showing Hernandez away from the home while still armed. Those details helped prosecutors connect the shooting at the residence to the arrest that followed. Authorities did not say whether Hernandez made a statement after he was taken into custody.

The sentence also sets the next phase of the case inside the state prison system. Hernandez will serve his term under rules that govern Texas felony sentences and any later parole review. Parole eligibility does not mean release, and officials did not announce a parole date. Any appeal, post-trial filing or prison classification step would move through the courts or corrections system after sentencing. As of the district attorney’s announcement, Hernandez stood convicted of murder and sentenced to 45 years for killing Chavez.

For Chavez’s case, the main public questions left concern the record that may emerge after sentencing, including whether Hernandez challenges the conviction and whether additional court filings detail the argument that came before the gunshot. The core facts announced by prosecutors remain fixed: Chavez was killed during a tattoo visit, Hernandez left with the gun, and a judge ordered him to prison for 45 years.

Author note: Last updated June 21, 2026.