Woman accused of murder livestreams SWAT entry; Decatur man also in custody

Nov. 7—A woman accused of murder in Lawrence County early Saturday livestreamed her arrest later that evening by a Morgan County Sheriff's Office SWAT team at a home in Decatur.

One of her alleged accomplices, a Decatur man, was arrested Sunday after leading Decatur police on a vehicle pursuit while firing his weapon out of the window, according to the Decatur Police Department.

Auburn Renee Moore, 36, of New Hope, was arrested and charged with murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery after the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) said a man and a woman entered a home at 1577 Lawrence County 245 and shot and killed Dustin Grimes in his bedroom as he tried to protect his wife, Karen Grimes.

Jordan Cesar Hernandez, 35, was also arrested in connection with the home invasion and charged with the above crimes in addition to attempted murder, according to Decatur police.

LCSO said they are withholding the names of a third person involved in the crime for investigative purposes.

Dispatch for 911 received a call around 6:57 a.m. Saturday from Karen Grimes who managed to free herself from her kidnappers after they drove her to an ATM in the East Lawrence area and demanded she withdraw money, according to LCSO. Karen Grimes made the call after taking refuge in a convenience store.

LCSO said they identified Moore and Hernandez as suspects with the help of Karen Grimes.

While inside a residence in the 800 block of East Moulton Street with a child, Moore used her cellphone camera to livestream on Facebook her impending arrest beginning shortly after 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

"The residence is surrounded," the voice of a Morgan County Sheriff's Office SWAT operator outside the house says as Moore keeps the camera aimed at the front door. "We are executing an arrest warrant.

"We need all occupants to slowly make themselves known and exit the building. Open the front door."

Moore, who indicated she believed that Decatur police were outside, spends much of the roughly 11-minute recording asking for "the lord" to help her.

"Please lord, be with us," Moore says. "It's just me and a little kid here right now. Please lord, be with us. Allahu Akbar."

As law enforcement officers continue to ask her to slowly open the door and slowly exit the residence, Moore alternates between sniffling, crying and sobbing.

"I have a child in here with me," Moore says to her phone. "And he's scared to death. We haven't done anything. And Jordan's not in here.

"They want to say that we're the enemies. They made it like that. They made this. They made this."

At one point, Moore makes the claim that the Sinaloa Cartel is real and works "inside the system."

Shortly after, at the 9:59 minute mark, an unidentified voice whispers: "They're coming in. They're coming in, they're coming in."

At the 10:14 minute mark, the front door is pushed inward with a loud bang. Moore whimpers. There is a second bang, and a piece of wood from the door breaks off and flies into the home. A flashlight briefly obscures the camera lens before revealing a SWAT operator in helmet and goggles equipped with a firearm.

"Show us your hands!" he commands. "Come out with your hands up!"

"Two people, two people," an unidentified voice says.

"He's a child," Moore says.

"Move," the SWAT operator says. "Stand up and walk out here now. Get on your feet and move."

Moore stands up with a Bible in her left hand.

"Leave the child alone," she says. She begins walking toward the entrance. "You might as well shoot me."

Still holding her phone, Moore exits the residence and tells the SWAT operator she just has a Bible in her hands.

"You're good," he says. "You're good."

The recording ends.

According to Morgan County sheriff's spokesman Mike Swafford, LCSO requested their assistance in apprehending Moore.

"We surrounded the residence and worked to have her exit the house for about an hour," Swafford said. "She failed to do so, and our team made entry and safely took her into custody." — Hernandez

An investigator's affidavit signed Saturday and later filed in Lawrence County Circuit Court alleges Moore and Hernandez entered the Grimes residence with the intent to commit a robbery and, during the robbery, shot Dustin Grimes in the head.

Moore and Hernandez also stole several firearms from the residence, according to the affidavit.

Hernandez led Decatur police on a vehicle pursuit Sunday after a patrol unit tried to stop him near Sixth Avenue and East Moulton Street around 11:40 a.m., according to Decatur police.

After firing multiple shots toward officers from his vehicle, Hernandez crashed and ran into the woods east of Calvary Assembly of God, off Alabama 20.

Decatur police spokeswoman Irene Cardenas-Martinez said no officers were harmed.

All lanes of Alabama 20 between Interstate 65 and U.S. 31 were closed Sunday as officers searched for the suspect.

Hernandez was located with the assistance of the Limestone County Sheriff's Office, the Huntsville Police Department, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) K9 Unit, according to Decatur police.

"Upon arriving on the scene, K-9 units tracked the suspect through the woods for approximately three miles," ADOC public information officer Kelly Betts said in a press release. "The suspect, Jordan Hernandez, was apprehended by the team without incident and escorted out of the woods where he was turned over to Limestone County deputies for processing."

Lawrence County Sheriff Max Sanders noted the quick thinking of Karen Grimes that led to her escape from Moore and Hernandez in a news release.

Hernandez remained in the Limestone County Jail on Monday without bond, while Moore remained in the Lawrence County Jail without bond.

In addition to previous charges of illegal possession of a controlled substance, Hernandez was charged in 2017 with trafficking meth after Decatur police said they found him in his bedroom with 29 grams of the drug, according to court documents. The trafficking charge was later dismissed in Morgan County Circuit Court for unspecified reasons.

Moore also has previous drug charges. She was sentenced in 2017 to two years of probation and given a 12-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to a first-degree robbery charge related to an incident in 2014, according to court records.

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438. @DD_DavidGambino