Houston Gang Members Set Fire To, Kill Man In Random Act Of Violence
Reports are now surfacing of a horrendous murder on the streets of Houston, Texas last month. So far, two suspects have already been arrested in a case that is believed to be gang-related.
Carlos Hernandez, 30, was walking back from a friend's house this past April when he was suddenly attacked by three gang members on the westside of Houston, who proceeded to light the victim on fire. Hernandez, who hails from El Salvador, was not believed to be involved in any gangs.
Esterrell Simpson, 18, was eventually caught in Louisiana on murder charges. One of her accomplices, Maurice Eugene Hollis, has also been arrested on the same charges and has had his bail set at $50,000. Simpson recently spoke to community activist Quanell X about the incident.
"This was planned. She began to describe to me how she was recording it on her phone while they were beating him and while he was on fire," Quanell X said, also noting, "She [Simpson] said, 'We had been riding around all week and were committing other little crimes.'"
Rather than killing a person of interest, it appears that the prospective gang members were given the final task of killing a random person in order to gain access to the group. Such initiation rights are common among many different gangs.
"She said they were all Black Disciple gang members," said Quanell X. "She said one of them was a Blood, who had just become a Black Disciple gang member and this was part of her initiation and his."
The news has devastated the family of the victim, whose body is now unrecognizable due to burns stretching across 92 percent of his frame. The family is hoping to raise the $4,000 needed to ship Hernandez's body back to his mother in El Salvador.
"Police have told us that's what could have happened," said the victim's cousin, Carmon Garcia. "It just hurts us a lot because they chose the wrong person."