Dallas hospital shooting suspect accused girlfriend of cheating before killing 2 workers, affidavit says
DALLAS - The Dallas police chief vented his frustration that the gunman charged with murdering two Methodist Dallas employees was allowed able to be inside the hospital.
The violent prison parolee was twice arrested for parole violations with the most recent one in June.
30-year-old Nestor Hernandez, who is on parole from state prison for an aggravated robbery he committed in 2015. He was wearing an electronic ankle monitor. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice granted him permission to be with his girlfriend for their baby's delivery Saturday morning.
Nester Oswaldo Hernandez mugshot from June 18, 2022 (Source: Dallas Sheriff's Office)
Dallas police have now taken over the investigation.
Methodist Hospital Chief Glen Fowler says if the state gave permission for Hernandez to come to the hospital, no one notified the hospital.
"The police department had no forewarning that this person was being monitored by ankle monitor or anything about his criminal history," he said.
The deadly Saturday inside Methodist Hospital’s labor and delivery area began at about 10:20 a.m. That's when Hernandez entered the hospital room where his girlfriend had given birth on Oct. 21.
While in the room with his girlfriend and newborn child, Hernandez began to act strangely and accused his girlfriend of cheating on him, according to the documents.
The affidavit says Hernandez began looking through the closet and bathroom for anyone else that may be in the room and pulled a gun out of his pants.
Hernandez then struck his girlfriend in the head multiple times with the gun and began to call and text his family, according to the documents.
The report says he then told his girlfriend "we are both going to die today" and "whoever comes in this room is going to die with us."
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When nurse 45-year-old social worker Jacqueline Pokuaa came in to provide services for Hernandez's girlfriend, he stood up and shot her, according to the affidavit.
Nurse Annette Flowers then looked into the room and was shot in the hallway, the documents say.
Methodist Hospital Police Sgt. Robert Rangel was down the hall for an unrelated matter when he heard what sounds like a gunshot in a nearby room. He witnessed the second employee being shot and took cover and called for help on his radio.
Rangel then shot Hernandez in the right leg, preventing him from leaving the hospital room. He was taken into custody after a short standoff.
Chief Garcia was open with his frustration that a violent criminal would be out and about on an ankle monitor.
"This isn’t about being on parole," he said. "What this is about it about is a violent criminal that was on ankle monitor and us thinking that in some way, shape or form that that's a level of accountability. Because it is not."
Hernandez was then stabilized and taken to another hospital for treatment. He's been charged with capital murder.
Many, including Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia, have criticized the decision to allow a criminal with a violent past like Hernandez out on parole.
Carrollton police body camera footage shows Nestor Hernandez being arrested for a parole violation in June. His criminal history runs even deeper.
In 2015, Hernandez pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery. He served six years of his eight-year sentence. He was placed on parole with a special condition of electronic monitoring, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Still, he hasn’t stayed out of trouble.
"In March of ’22, he was arrested for parole violation. Then in April, released to his parole officer," Garcia said. "In June, he was arrested by Carrollton police for parole violation."
Carrollton police, while investigating him and others for a possible drug operation, learned Hernandez had an active warrant for an unspecified parole violation.
Hernandez was arrested and given to the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice but released with an ankle monitor in September.
Dallas hospital shooting suspect accused girlfriend of cheating before killing 2 workers, affidavit says
The Dallas police chief vented his frustration that the gunman charged with murdering two Methodist Dallas employees was allowed able to be inside the hospital. The violent prison parolee was twice arrested for parole violations with the most recent one in June.
"Ankle monitors on violent criminals are useless," Garcia said.
A growing number of Methodist Dallas employees tell FOX 4 they’ve expressed ongoing safety concerns at the hospital. They wonder if changes at the hospital could have prevented the killings.
"We don’t necessarily say that we have all the answers to prevent from evil when it’s going to occur," Fowler said. "But we’re going to do our very best to protect our own fellow employees, the patients."
Hernandez has been living at this apartment complex in Carrollton. It’s unclear if he’s been living alone. FOX 4 knocked on his door, But no one answered. It’s the same complex he was arrested at in June.
Chief Garcia believes he’s had too many chances.
"This is not just me, Eddie Garcia, being loud about accountability. I hear this from my neighborhoods every time I’m out there," he said. "And so it’s incredibly frustrating. But as I’ve said so many times, we’re not going to stop. We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing. And if we have to be the only part of the criminal justice system that doesn’t let our community down, that’s exactly what the Dallas Police Department’s going to do."
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice would not interview with FOX 4 but did send a statement in response to our questions saying, "There was not an indication that Hernandez would act out violently in a hospital and allowing him the ability to visit loved ones in that setting would not be out of the normal course of supervision."
FOX 4 specifically asked why they did not notify Methodist, but they did not answer that question.
On Monday, Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot released a statement saying, "Parole decisions and conditions are not made by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office or any judicial officer of Dallas County, but by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles."
Creuzot went on to say that once a criminal case has been filed with the DA's office that his team "will work to see that justice is done."