California man pleads guilty in federal court for Hale County homicide
A 24-year-old man pleaded guilty Tuesday to traveling from California to Hale County where he stabbed his boyfriend to death two years ago.
Alexander Yoichi Duberek appeared before U.S. Magistrate judge John R. Parker and pleaded guilty to a count of interstate domestic violence in connection with the stabbing death of 30-year-old Chad Luera, whose body was found in 2020 on the side of the road near Plainview.
The charge carries a punishment of up to life in prison. Duberek entered his plea ahead of a trial that was set to begin on Monday.
Duberek was arrested in March 2021 after surrendering to police in California in connection with the Oct. 31, 2020 stabbing death of 30-year-old Chad Luera, whose body was found Nov. 2, 2020 on the side of the road on FM 400.
A search warrant filed on March 15, 2021 states Duberek and Luera were approaching their first-year anniversary.
Duberek was extradited to Texas in April 2021 and is held at the Bailey County jail.
Duberek admitted that he traveled on Oct. 31, 2020 from San Diego, California, to Lubbock and Plainview intending to kill his Luera, who he had been dating for about a year, according to court documents.
Duberek and Luera began dating about September 2019 and Duberek traveled from San Diego to Plainview at least three times during the relationship to spend time with Luera.
However, Duberek began losing control of his temper and planned to travel to Texas to injure and kill Luera. He began telling people he was moving to Texas to live near Luera.
Duberek flew to Lubbock on Oct. 31, 2020 and told his family that he booked a room at the Comfort Suites hotel in Plainview. However, investigators discovered that Duberek never made a reservation at the hotel.
Instead, Duberek hired a ride to the Sam's Club parking lot in Lubbock where he bought a 2009 Toyota Camry for $3,000 cash. He then drove to a Walmart store in Lubbock where he spent more than $560 on the tools he would use to kill Luera, which included a seat cover for a vehicle, a gas can, a knife, a hatchet, a collapsible shovel, a head lamp, a flashlight, a backpack, bath towels, Febreze, water boots, shoes, a jacket, a change of clothing, and toiletries.
Location data investigators obtained for Duberek's Google account showed he reached Luera's residence in Hale Center about 10:09 p.m.
The Google account did not show additional movement until about 11:17 p.m. when it indicated he was on FM 400, about 4 miles north of where Luera's body was found.
An autopsy showed Luera was stabbed 93 times, the documents state.
Duberek fled the scene in Plainview and drove to Houston, where he abandoned the 2009 Toyota Camry. The vehicle was found and search of the vehicle revealed blood in the back seat area and on the trunk latch. The collapsible shovel Duberek bought at Walmart was still in the trunk. Blood in the vehicle was confirmed as Luera's after a DNA test.
A Texas Ranger assisting the Hale County Sheriff's Office spoke with a friend of Luera's and learned he and Duberek were dating and nearing their first anniversary.
An arrest warrant was issued charging Duberek with murder in connection with Luera's death.
On March 18, 2021, Duberek surrendered to the FBI in San Diego and was arrested on the warrant issued out of Hale County.
As he was being booked into jail in San Diego, he told officials that the name tattooed on his ring finger was the person he killed, the documents state.
Duberek was extradited to Plainview about a month later. During a mental health interview as part of the book-in process he told officials, "... When I was on the run, I had, uh, I took some time to work on my thoughts, you know, try to get my mental straight which is why I turned myself in."
He also faces a murder charge in Hale County.
Duberek's punishment will be determined by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix after a pre-sentencing report is completed.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Alexander Duberek pleads guilty in federal court
