A San Antonio man has been ordered to serve decades behind bars after a judge imposed a 45-year sentence for the fatal shooting of a tattoo artist during a dispute in 2021. The punishment, handed down this week, closes a case that drew attention to public-safety concerns in the neighborhood where the killing occurred.
Raymond Hernandez, 33, was sentenced by Judge Jennifer Pena of the 290th Criminal District Court after being convicted of first-degree murder in the death of 46-year-old Leonel Chavez Jr., the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office announced.
The shooting occurred on April 2, 2021, at a private residence on the 800 block of West Baetz Boulevard in San Antonio. Chavez, a tattoo artist, was reportedly working on a client when an argument broke out involving Hernandez, who was also at the home that day.
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Tattoo artist shot and killed during private session: client fires weapon and walks away
According to prosecutors, the disagreement escalated and Hernandez fired a gun at Chavez. A witness at the scene told investigators they heard a shot, saw the victim fall and notified authorities after confronting Hernandez. Surveillance footage later captured the suspect less than a mile from the house still in possession of the firearm, prosecutors said.
- Victim: Leonel Chavez Jr., 46, tattoo artist
- Defendant: Raymond Hernandez, 33
- Date of incident: April 2, 2021
- Evidence cited by prosecutors: witness statements and surveillance footage showing the suspect with the weapon
- Sentence: 45 years in prison, imposed by Judge Jennifer Pena
Hernandez was taken into custody after investigators linked him to the shooting. Local reporting indicates he had been at the residence seeking a tattoo the same day, a detail prosecutors included in their case file.
In a statement shared after the sentencing, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales framed the outcome as an affirmation of the office’s effort to hold violent offenders to account and to protect community safety.
The case highlights several elements common to recent prosecutions of fatal shootings: a relatively small circle of eyewitnesses, video evidence from nearby cameras, and a sentencing that stretches across years between the crime and final disposition. For residents and officials, the conviction represents both legal closure and a reminder of ongoing concerns about gun violence in residential areas.
