Lexington judge denies bond reduction for suspects tied to murder at a birthday party
It was at a three-year-old’s birthday party in early September when more than 20 shots rang out, killing one woman and injuring a man, a Lexington Police Department detective testified Thursday.
Brian Marquez Chavez, 21, and Kevin Marquez Chavez, 18, are charged with murder, attempted murder, 20 counts of wanton endangerment and criminal mischief.
They are suspects in the murder of Esmerelda Lizete Rodriguez Perez, 28, of Lexington. Police found Perez shot around 1 a.m. on Sept. 8. She later died at the hospital. A man was also wounded in the shooting but survived. The two men, who are brothers, were announced as suspects in late September.
During a preliminary hearing Thursday for both men, Detective John Davis testified the suspects canvassed a mobile home park before they approached and opened fire at the party. Twenty-four shell casings were found at the scene. They did not know Perez, Davis testified.
Davis said the motive could be a retaliation to a 2022 shooting that left Kevin Marquez Chavez shot.
Davis testified the surviving victim identified the two men as the shooters, and said he knew them previously. Detectives found video footage which showed two men resembling the brothers in the mobile park before and after the shooting took place. Cell phone data placed both of their phones in the area at the time.
The two men were arrested Dec. 3, 2024, in Florida, by the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office. No firearm was recovered, but the murder weapon is believed to be an automatic .9mm handgun.
Brian Marquez Chavez’s attorney, Brad Clark, said the evidence against his client is largely circumstantial. He claimed the cell phone and video evidence was not reliable. He asked the $1 million bond be reduced.
Derrick Harris, Kevin Marquez Chavez’s attorney, asked the same.
Fayette District Judge John Tackett sided with prosecutors and denied the bond reduction. Tackett said while the two men had the presumption of innocence, he could not “stick his head in the sand” and ignore the evidence.
“The allegations against you are exceedingly dangerous, and you are a threat to the community,” Tackett said to the defendants.
He found probable cause to send their cases to a grand jury, who will determine whether the men will be criminally charged. Family declined to speak with media after the hearing.
