North Texas landlord a suspect after tenant found dead in back yard, police say
A Lewisville landlord is wanted for questioning after police found his tenant shot multiple times in the back yard of the suspect’s residence that he was renting out, the Lewisville Police Department said in a news release.
At around 9:20 p.m. Saturday, Lewisville police received a call from Glenn Heights police about an abandoned vehicle in their city.
A resident saw a male driver get out of the car and leave the area on foot, according to the release.
Glenn Heights police said it appeared the ignition had been tampered with and thought the car might be stolen.
Authorities determined the car was registered to a man in Lewisville and police went to a house in the 800 block of Harbor Drive, where the car was registered.
Officers spoke with a woman who lives at the residence and she confirmed the abandoned vehicle was her husband’s, according to the release.
She also told police her husband failed to pick her up from work that evening and she hadn’t been able to contact him.
On Sunday, Lewisville police went back to the residence and the woman said she still had not heard from her husband, according to the release.
She told officers that she and her husband rent out several rooms in their house. Her husband planned to evict a tenant on Saturday due to failure to pay rent, she told police.
After a search of the house, officers found the body of 40-year-old Marco Polo Hernandez-Mejia in the back yard. He had been shot multiple times, according to police.
The woman confirmed to police that Hernandez-Mejia was the tenant her husband intended to evict the day before.
The main suspect, the woman’s husband, is at large, police say. Authorities are not releasing the name of the suspect at this time.
Detectives are investigating to determine what led to the shooting.
There is no danger to the public as the shooting was between two individuals who knew each other, the release states.
A GoFundMe was organized for the victim by his daughter, Yeneysy Hernandez Torres. Her family is looking to raise money to lay Hernandez-Mejia to rest in Mexico with his parents.
“My dad was a good man, hard-working and was always there for me and helped my grandparents,” said Hernandez Torres said in Spanish on the GoFundMe page. “We are devastated by his loss.”
Of a $10,000 goal, $920 had been raised as of Thursday.
