Crime & Safety
Jury Rejects Self-Defense Claim In 2015 Shooting Deaths
Rey Hernandez, 21, said he shot two men after struggling for a gun in 2015. He is self-defense claim was rejected by a jury.
ST. LOUIS, MO — The Post-Dispatch reports a man who claimed self defense in the shooting of two men in October 2015 has been convicted of two counts of first-degree murder after a jury rejected his argument. Rey Hernandez, 21, testified that he grabbed the gun of 23-year-old James Cobb Jr. during a struggle and shot Cobb and another man, 22-year-old Haris Hajdarevic, in fear of his life.
At the time, Hernandez was dating the mother of Cobb's son, and before the shooting the two had reportedly argued on social media about Cobb's responsibilities as a father amid a custody dispute involving Cobb and the boy's mother.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 8.
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