A man has been charged in connection with the April double homicide of two Alabama men, whose lives were cut short in a wooded area adjacent to Lincoya Bay Apartments near Percy Priest Lake in Nashville. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) has taken 23-year-old Josue Daniel Hernandez-Moxje into custody, applying two counts of criminal homicide, following an unwavering investigation that stretched from Nashville to Louisiana.
According to an announcement from MNPD, the victims, 19-year-old Amir Landan Wilkerson and 18-year-old Jaime Valdez-Garcia, traveled from Alabaster, Alabama to Nashville on April 27. It was the following day their bodies were discovered, having been fatally shot. With deep diving into leads, Hernandez-Moxje, originally from Honduras, surfaced as the key suspect after rigorous efforts by the Homicide and Specialized Investigations Division detectives, in collaboration with federal agencies including ATF and Homeland Security.
In tracing the suspect's movements, a vital piece of evidence surfaced—a license plate, which Hernandez-Moxje purportedly was traveling with, entered into a law enforcement database. A License Plate Reader in Kenner, Louisiana, alerted authorities to the vehicle, leading to Hernandez-Moxje's subsequent arrest on June 6 for outstanding warrants unrelated to the murders, including domestic violence, theft, and bad checks. Investigators found and forensically tested evidence in the vehicle that linked him to the April 28 killings. "In consultation with the District Attorney’s Office, warrants charging Hernandez-Moxje with the two criminal homicide counts were issued on Friday," the MNPD statement noted. Hernandez-Moxje has since been extradited to Nashville from Louisiana.
This case remains active as the investigation continues, with MNPD indicating that "additional charges are anticipated." The tight-knit involvement of various investigative bodies underscores the seriousness with which these crimes have been approached. As details emerge and the legal proceedings advance, many in the community await justice for the senseless loss of the young Alabama men, while stark reminders of violence's jarring intrusion into otherwise ordinary lives persist.
