Former boyfriend of murdered 12-year-old's mother identified as suspect in boy's killing, HCSO says

CLOVERLEAF, Texas (KTRK) -- A 27-year-old man, who deputies say dated a 12-year-old murder victim's mother, was identified as the suspect in the boy's killing.

Late Wednesday evening, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said Terry Bryan Rivera remains on the run days after Carlos Fernandez was shot early Monday morning at his Cloverleaf home.

Authorities charged Rivera with capital murder.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez added that Rivera and Carlos' mother had two children together and that deputies recovered a grey pickup truck believed to be used by the suspect when the shooting happened.

HCSO warned that Rivera should be considered armed and dangerous.

Earlier in the day, Eyewitness News spoke with Carlos' relatives, who claimed Rivera had attacked the boy's mother last Friday.

Days later, Carlos was shot and killed when someone shot through the open window of a bedroom where he slept with his mother, his mother's current boyfriend, and his 6- and 7-year-old sisters.

ORIGINAL STORY: 12-year-old boy dies after wanted gunman fires shots into Cloverleaf-area apartment, deputies say

"The coward came Friday, and he busted into the apartment, and he grabbed (Carlos' mother) by her neck, and he held a gun on them," Grace Gonzales, Carlos' great-aunt, said of the suspect.

Several neighbors witnessed and corroborated the attack.

Meanwhile, the Harris County Sheriff's Office refused to release calls for service at the apartment. The family added nothing was done after law enforcement responded to Friday's attack. Records show no arrests were made.

"This could have been prevented Friday. Nothing was done," Daniel Gonzales, Carlos' uncle, said.

Court records show the suspect has a substantial criminal history. He was arrested for strangling a different female relative in 2014, a third-degree felony, but pleaded guilty to a lesser offense, a misdemeanor assault. In that case, the victim was granted an order for emergency protection against him.

He was last arrested in 2023 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon but, again, pleaded down to a lesser offense.

"He doesn't deserve to be out here, free, and my nephew is six feet under," Grace Gonzales said. "If they would have taken him in, (Carlos) would still be alive today."

Daniel Gonzales described Carlos as "such a good kid." He said he helped him work as a landscaper and handyman in the summer to support his family. Grace Gonzales said she believes he was targeted as the man of the house.

"Because (the suspect) couldn't have (Carlos' mother), so he took the next best thing from her, which was her son. Her pride and joy, knowing that little boy would defend her however he could," she said.

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