Inset: Cyle Flores (McLennan County Jail). Background: The house where Flores and three others lured a man to his death in Waco, Texas (Google Maps).
This week, the last member of a Texas group involved in a fatal online deception known as a catfish scheme received his sentence.
On Thursday, 18-year-old Cyle Flores admitted guilt to a murder charge and was handed a 25-year prison term in the state penitentiary.
The case dates back to 2021 when Flores, alongside Jeremiah Marquez, also 18, Justin Angel Hernandez, 22, and 17-year-old Edgar Alfonso Castillo, orchestrated a plan via Facebook Messenger. They enticed 22-year-old Israel Martinez to a Waco home on Gurley Avenue, where he was subsequently robbed, shot multiple times, and killed.
With this plea, Flores followed the path of his accomplices, opting for a plea bargain from the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office instead of going to trial.
Initially facing charges of capital murder, the defendants ultimately accepted reduced charges of murder, resulting in sentences that allow for parole eligibility.
McLennan County Assistant District Attorneys Kristi DeCluitt and Rebeckah Lawson commented in a statement to local CBS and Telemundo affiliate KWTX: “The three juveniles involved were tried as adults. Along with an adult accomplice, they orchestrated a premeditated social media plot to rob and ultimately murder the victim. Such acts of violence are intolerable in our community, and we remain committed to pursuing justice for those affected.”
The underlying incident occurred on Sept. 19, 2021, when Martinez was lured to the residence in question under the pretenses that he had been summoned by a woman named “Kaelani Moore.”
But while the Facebook Messenger account was linked to that handle and a picture of the purported user, the victim was not communicating with a woman at all. Rather, he was being catfished by Hernandez and the three teenagers, according to the Waco Police Department.
Detectives linked the conversation back to Hernandez’s own account, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by KWTX. During the conversation, Hernandez — as Moore — told Martinez to send money on a different app to a user named “Kaelani M.”
An email address used to set up the fake Moore profile revealed subscriber information for Hernandez, police discovered. Detectives said the Moore account was used to “set up the murder victim.”
One of the catfishing messages told Martinez to be on the lookout for a vehicle parked in front of the house, authorities said.
A few minutes past 10 p.m. that night, the victim showed up as requested and was standing outside when he was repeatedly shot by various firearms, shell casings at the scene suggested, according to police. The shots had been fired from the residence itself – the defendants had broken in through a back window. Witnesses said they saw multiple people flee once the last report of gunfire echoed through the suburban street.
After the slaying, the fake account was deleted, authorities said.
Law enforcement believe Hernandez and Marquez were the triggermen that night, but all four defendants faced the same charges.
While the three younger participants in the plot were never eligible for the death penalty — due to being minors at the time — Hernandez could have faced capital punishment but for the plea deal.
In the end, 54th State District Court sentenced Hernandez and Marquez to 35 years in prison and Castillo to 30 years in prison. Flores received the relatively lightest sentence. Each of the men must serve at least half of their sentences before they are eligible for parole.
“Each conviction in this case highlights gun violence will not be tolerated in our community, and our office will continue to target those who do harm, regardless of their age,” the prosecutors added.
