HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend's 12-year-old son was arrested on Monday, one week after the deadly shooting.
Terry Bryan Rivera, 27, is charged with capital murder in the shooting death of 12-year-old Carlos Fernandez.
On Monday, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Rivera was detained at a Brownsville port of entry at the Texas Mexico Border. He's in custody in Cameron County and will eventually be extradited back to Houston.
Carlos's family shared a message with KHOU 11 News following the arrest. "Very happy with the hard work and dedication that was put into capturing him. Thanking everyone involved and the community for the support," they said.
Gonzalez said more details on Rivera's capture will be released as they become available.
It happened the same day Carlos was laid to rest.
"I don't want everybody to remember Carlos for the senseless tragedy, I want them to remember him for the young man that he was, the protector, the big brother, the big cousin,” Delfino Gonzales, the boy's uncle, said.
Gonzales said the family is finding strength through the outpouring of love from the community.
"The prayers, the text messages, the phone calls, you guys keeping the story going. I mean, it's just a testament of a community coming together and a city coming together to be there and support, you know, us in this tragic time," Gonzales told us on Sunday.
The little boy's death still rattles the community and neighbors are glad Rivera is no longer on the run.
"It's so sad what he did. I just, it's so emotional, like the family just deserves resolution," said neighbor Melanie Driscoll. "He deserves what he gets."
Rivera's mom, Alva Cornejo, 51, was arrested on Sunday and charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, a felony.
Cornejo made an appearance in probable cause court on Monday, where new details were revealed on the events following Carlos's death.
It is alleged that Cornejo met with her son hours after the incident. She told officers that Rivera gave her details about the shooting.
Cornejo allegedly told investigators she told her son to turn himself in, but instead, he jumped out of a car and ran away. She claims she hasn't heard from him since.
Cornejo was confronted by investigators with images showing her car later that morning going north on Highway 59 in Montogomery County. Cornejo told officers she was upset about her son and decided to go to the casino, but later turned around when she realized she didn't have any money to gamble.
In court, prosecutors allege investigators also found text messages Cornejo sent to someone asking them to pick up her son. They also said they found she had searched on the internet about how to travel to the border of Mexico.
It was revealed in court that Cornejo is a citizen of El Savadaor. She currently has an ICE immigration hold.
A judge set Cornejo's bond at $25,000. If released, she is ordered to not have any contact with Rivera and will be required to be tracked by GPS monitoring.
During a visitation for Carlos held Sunday, family told KHOU 11 News Cornejo's arrest comes as no surprise.
The shooting happened Monday, March 4, around 3 a.m. at an apartment in the Cloverleaf area on Alderson Street near Freeport Street.
Carlos was sleeping in the living room and had gone to check on his two sisters when he heard noises coming from their bedroom. That's when Rivera shot and killed him, according to the sheriff's office. The sisters were not hurt.
Investigators said they were able to recover the grey pickup truck believed to be used by Rivera when the shooting happened.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the sheriff's office homicide unit or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).