The plea moves a 2025 parking lot shooting in Columbus closer to sentencing after prosecutors reduced the lead charge.

COLUMBUS, Neb. — A 26-year-old man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and a weapons charge in the fatal shooting of his stepfather outside a Walmart in Columbus, nearly 10 months after police said he lured the man there on the pretense of shopping for a vehicle part.

The plea shifts the case from a first-degree murder prosecution to a sentencing fight centered on a killing that police say unfolded in a busy store parking lot on May 27, 2025. Prosecutors say Manuel Mesa-Cabrera shot 42-year-old Anhil David Mirabal Hernandez after bringing him to the Walmart at 818 E. 23rd St. The case matters now because the guilty plea closes off a trial and sets the stage for a court decision on punishment later this month.

According to police and later court reporting, the shooting happened at about 6:20 p.m. on a Tuesday evening in the Walmart parking lot on East 23rd Street. Investigators say Mesa-Cabrera asked Hernandez, identified by police as his stepfather, to come with him to help look for a vehicle part. Once the two arrived and parked, prosecutors said, Mesa-Cabrera pulled out a 9 mm Smith and Wesson handgun and shot Hernandez in the chest and head. Columbus officers reached the scene and found Hernandez on the ground with what police first described as an apparent gunshot wound to the chest. Capt. Doug Molczyk said officers immediately tried to help until medics arrived. Hernandez was taken to Columbus Community Hospital, where he later died.

The police account was followed by a quick arrest. Authorities said Mesa-Cabrera turned himself in at the Columbus Police Department shortly after the shooting. He was booked into the Platte County Detention Facility on suspicion of first-degree murder and use of a firearm to commit a felony. Local news outlets, citing court records and an arrest affidavit, later reported that investigators believed the younger man had decided in the days before May 27 to kill Hernandez. Those same reports said Mesa-Cabrera legally bought the Smith and Wesson about two weeks before the shooting. An affidavit cited by local media also said Mesa-Cabrera had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was not taking medication or seeing a doctor at the time authorities examined the case. The record available in public reporting does not fully explain what led to the confrontation in the parking lot or whether there had been an argument immediately before the gunfire.

The case developed in stages that are familiar in homicide prosecutions but still striking in their details. Police first announced a fatal shooting in a public retail lot, then identified the dead man as Hernandez, a 42-year-old Columbus resident. Investigators later said the suspect was his stepson, which gave the case a family dimension from the start. The location also made the killing notable. It happened not in a private home or a remote area, but outside one of the city’s largest retailers during evening business hours. Police have not publicly described any injuries to bystanders, and available reports do not indicate that anyone else was physically hurt. Public records cited by broadcasters show the state initially pursued the more serious first-degree murder count, suggesting prosecutors believed they could argue deliberate intent. The later plea to second-degree murder marked a major turn in how the case would be resolved.

That change became public in March 2026, when court documents showed Mesa-Cabrera had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and a weapons charge. Local television reporting said the plea was entered March 20. News Channel Nebraska later reported that the original counts were amended and that sentencing was set for April 30. The available reports do not spell out all terms of the plea agreement, including what sentence either side plans to recommend or whether additional facts were formally admitted beyond the plea itself. Those questions are likely to shape the next court hearing. At sentencing, a judge can be expected to review the plea, the underlying records, any victim-impact statements, and arguments from lawyers about the seriousness of the killing and the proper punishment.

Even with the plea in place, the case retains the grim details that first drew public attention. Investigators say the encounter began with a request for ordinary help and ended in a fatal shooting between relatives in a store parking lot. Police described a scene where officers rushed to render aid, while the suspect soon appeared at the station and surrendered. The public record released through media reports is still incomplete in places, leaving unanswered questions about the family relationship, what Hernandez believed he was going to do at Walmart, and what Mesa-Cabrera said after his arrest beyond the reported statement that he knew he was going to be arrested. Those gaps may narrow once the sentencing hearing produces a fuller account in open court.

For now, the case stands at the point where guilt has been admitted and the remaining question is punishment. Mesa-Cabrera’s sentencing is scheduled for April 30, when the Platte County case is expected to move from accusation to formal judgment.

Author note: Last updated April 13, 2026.