A Riverside jury Wednesday acquitted a 23-year-old man of murder for fatally stabbing his stepfather during a confrontation at their Moreno Valley home.
After deliberating less than two days, jurors found Jose Luis Hernandez not guilty of the 2021 death of 51-year-old Mauricio E. Moreno.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Sophia Choi ordered the case closed after receiving the jury’s unanimous verdict late Wednesday morning. The panel had gone behind closed doors Monday afternoon to begin weighing evidence from the nearly weeklong trial.
Hernandez’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
The deadly fight happened on the night of July 10, 2021, in the defendant’s and victim’s shared residence at 13855 Sylmar Drive, near Cottowood Avenue, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
A prosecution trial brief said Hernandez returned home from work that night to find Moreno and the defendant’s friend, identified only as “Rickie,” in a fistfight, with Moreno apparently dominating. Hernandez’s sister and another female relative, whose identities were not disclosed, were trying unsuccessfully to stop the fisticuffs.
Court papers alleged Hernandez “placed the victim in a chokehold and strangled him unconscious.”
After Moreno went limp, Hernandez released him and proceeded upstairs to his bedroom, where he “grabbed a knife and yelled from the top of the stairs, challenging the victim to a fight,” according to the brief.
Moreno regained consciousness and heard the shouts, got to his feet and made his way up the staircase. When he reached the top and came toward Hernandez, the defendant “swung the knife,” stabbing his stepdad in the heart, the narrative stated.
Moreno collapsed and tumbled back down the stairs, where Rickie and the two women immediately tried to stanch the bleeding and render other aid, according to the prosecution.
Court papers said Hernandez joined the others in trying to save Moreno’s life.
Deputies were called to the residence, along with paramedics, and took the defendant into custody without incident. Moreno was transported to nearby Riverside University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Hernandez has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.