Lexington man charged with murder for 2019 Christmas killing
Lexington police have charged a man with murder in relation to the killing of Bertin Garcia-Jimenez, according to an arrest citation.
Jose Andrade, 33, has been charged with murder, two counts of second degree assault, one count of fourth degree assault and one count of terroristic threatening, per court records. He was arrested in Washington State, police said, and booked into the Fayette County Detention Center just after 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The incident took place on Christmas Day in 2019. Andrade allegedly shot Garcia-Jimenez and fled the scene, according to an arrest warrant.
Police said they received a call at 1 p.m. from a Spanish-speaking subject saying they thought someone was dead inside a unit at Crystal Garden Apartments on Alexandria Drive. Personnel with the Lexington Fire Department declared Garcia-Jimenez dead at the scene, per the arrest warrant.
Two witnesses said they saw Andrade shoot Garcia-Jimenez in the head, the arrest warrant said.
Andrade is being held on a $527,500 bond, according to the jail log.
At the time, the killing tied the annual homicides record in Lexington. That record was broken in 2020 and re-broken again in 2021 after the local latest homicide over one week ago.
