Lexington father charged with tampering in murder case released from monitoring
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge ended electronic monitoring for Reyes-Rodriguez after no indictment filed
- Reyes-Rodriguez allegedly tried to burn evidence tied to teens' disappearance
- Prosecutors plan to present Reyes-Rodriguez’s case to grand jury alongside son's
A Lexington man accused of evidence tampering in connection with the deaths of two local teens is being released from electronic monitoring.
Jesus Reyes-Rodriguez, 48, is the father of a 17-year-old boy who is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Aoun Ismail Basboos, 15, and Ali Haider Naqvi, 16, who went missing May 11.
Reyes-Rodriguez was charged with tampering with physical evidence in May, after the Lexington Police Department found the vehicle the boys were last seen getting into at a store that is owned by Reyes-Rodriguez.
Because Reyes-Rodriguez was not indicted within 60 days of his case being referred to a Fayette County grand jury, a Fayette Circuit Court judge on Monday ordered that he be “released immediately from electronic monitoring.”
The court order also says his bond and bond conditions are to be “exonerated immediately,” and any cash bond he posted is to be released.
Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Baird said her office will present Reyes-Rodriguez’s case to a grand jury at the same time they present his son’s case.
“Given the charge and factual circumstances, we didn’t feel he would be a flight risk or cause a danger to the public at this time by waiting,” Baird said in an email Tuesday night.
Ali’s body was found May 17 in Harrison County. Aoun has not been found, but he is presumed dead, Lexington police have said.
Police testified at a hearing in June that they found the car the teens were last seen in covered with a tarp, with other vehicles parked around it, at Loradale Market on Russell Cave Road. They allege that Reyes-Rodriguez tried to burn a car seat and seat belts in a nearby burn pit.
Police said they also found evidence of blood in the bed of a truck owned by Reyes-Rodriguez that appeared to have been cleaned. Police said the FBI was testing to see if the blood was human.
Court records indicate Reyes-Rodriguez was arrested May 15 and released without having to post bond the following day.
The Fayette County Attorney’s Office later filed a motion stating he “was erroneously released from custody without having to post a bail amount and the Commonwealth did not have an opportunity to address the conditions of his release.” They asked that electronic monitoring be included in the conditions of his release.
Four days later, on July 7, the conditions of his release were amended to include electronic monitoring, and bond was set at $5,000, which Reyes-Rodriguez posted that day, according to online court records.
