Xavier Zamora, Teen Suspect In Army Veteran Mailman Killing, Has Violent Past

Police arrested the teen suspected of killing 47-year-old Jose Hernandez, a U.S. postal service worker in New Mexico, who was also an army veteran, Wednesday.

Xavier Zamora, 17, of Albuquerque, was arrested “without incident”, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos told the Albuquerque Journal. “Our detectives worked with the US Postal Inspection Service to locate and arrest the suspect accused of murdering a local letter carrier. Thank you to everyone who assisted,” he wrote in a tweet following the arrest.

Hernandez witnessed the suspect engaging in a domestic dispute with the latter’s mother outside their home, Monday, while on his job in southwest Albuquerque. The victim intervened in the fight with the intention of de-escalating the situation when Zamora started displaying aggressive behavior. To stop the teen from attacking him, Hernandez sprayed him with mace. After that, Zamora went into his house, came out armed with a gun and shot the victim in the abdomen.

After the alleged incident, the suspect went back into his house. When the police and SWAT arrived at the scene, they searched Zamora’s house. Although no one had seen the teen flee the house, they determined that he had run away. Attempts to resuscitate the victim failed and he was declared dead at the scene.

According to ABC-affiliated KOAT, Zamora has a violent criminal past and had a number of encounters with police. In July 2018, the suspect assaulted his mother after finding out she had a boyfriend, following a phone call from the man. He slapped and punched his mother while both of them were sitting inside a car in front of their house. The police report of the incident, obtained by the news station, said that a glass cup full of 9 mm ammunition was discovered in the suspect’s bedroom.

In February, police received reports of Zamora having a heated argument with his mother, storming out of the house and breaking the windshield of their car with his shoe. There were also other reports dating back to 2016 regarding a man filing a restraining order against the teen after the latter allegedly threatened his family via texts.

Hernandez, a carrier from Albuquerque’s Five Points post office, worked for the postal service for 12 years.

“We are shocked and saddened to learn of such a tragic death of one of our own employees and coworkers," postal service spokesman Rod Spurgeon said. "He served his community with dedication and was a decorated Army veteran. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time. The postal service is offering employee assistance services to his family and coworkers."

Martin, the victim’s brother, spoke out after the incident, saying Hernandez was a father of four children. "It was a shock. I think we were all in shock, and I think we still are. He was a big guy, he was taller than I was and a lot broader from the shoulders, and he just had a really big personality that matched his size. When we found out that this happened to him, we felt that that was a way. That if he were to chose [sic] a way to leave this earth, it would probably be doing something like that,” Martin told CBS/Fox-affiliated KRQE.

Hernandez had served with the Army Corps of Engineers and loved superheroes. “In his mind and in his heart, he always thought and did things like a superhero," Martin said.