Machete-wielding felon charged with killing man at bus stop, hacking another’s arm, say prosecutors
Photo: Houston Police Department
Bernardino Cueva, 40, was charged with murder for allegedly hacking C.J. Jones, Jr., to death with a machete at 7100 Lyons on May 2, 2019.
A machete-wielding felon is behind bars after allegedly killing a man at a bus stop, and attacking another in northeast Houston, telling police he was only trying to protect "all of the women and children in the world" from being raped, prosecutors said.
Bernardino Cueva, 40, admitted to attacking a man on April 28 at a bus stop along Lyons Avenue, prosecutors said during a probable cause hearing Saturday afternoon. The man later told police he was catching a ride to church when Cueva started yelling at him from the other side of a fence on nearby property, prosecutors said.
As the victim started to walk away, Cueva allegedly jumped the fence and chased the man down, pulled out a machete and hacked at the man's arm, prosecutors said. The victim was able to run away from Cueva, who fled the scene.
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Then, shortly after 12 a.m. on the morning of May 2, Cueva allegedly attacked another man at the bus stop in the 2100 block of Lyons Avenue – this time, fatally. That victim was identified in court documents as C.J. Jones, Jr.
Police said Jones died of blunt force trauma to his head. As he was being loaded up into an ambulance, he told officers the attack was unprovoked shortly before losing consciousness.
Paramedics rushed him to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
After police caught up with Cueva later that day, he confessed to the attacks, prosecutors said. Officers found bloodied jeans and a shirt in Cueva's backpack after the alleged confession, prosecutors said.
"On both incidents, the (victims) were waiting at the bus stop, which the suspect believed was his property," the prosecutor said in court. "(Cueva) believed they were going to rape him and all of the women and children in the world, and so he felt he needed to protect them."
Cueva is charged for each attack, one for aggravated assault and the other for murder. He is being held without bond, and was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.
This isn't Cueva's first run-in with the law. Court records show he was charged with misdemeanor assault in January and was out on bond during the recent attacks.
He was also convicted in a home burglary in 2004 and aggravated assault in 2013, both felonies out of Nueces County.
He faces between five and 99 years, or life in prison, if convicted.
Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message
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