Mardracus West, Earl Brown arrested for murder of illegal immigrant Bardomiano Perez Hernandez, found 49 days after being shot

The Memphis Police Department has identified the man whose body was found in a van at an MPD impound lot as Bardomiano Perez Hernandez and arrested two men for his murder.

Mardracus West, 19, and Earl Brown, 20, have been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Hernandez, an illegal immigrant from Oaxaca, Mexico.

Crime Scene Tape photo/edited pic from FBI.gov

Police said West, whose nickname is Pig, was developed as a suspect and found hiding in the attic of a home in the 3000 block of Princeton Avenue. Brown, who is known as Lil D and Rico, was also found at the home.

Earl Brown (left) and Mardracus West

West admitted to shooting Castor five to six times in an attempt to rob him. He told police that Brown and another man were with him during the shooting and attempted robbery

Hernandez, 33, was shot on Dec.18 during an attempted robbery as he and two friends were inside a van parked outside an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Yale Avenue.

The driver of the van, Pablo Castor, 47, was shot three times and taken to the hospital. Another man who was the front-seat passenger was not injured.

When Castor went to the impound lot on Feb. 5 to pick up his van, 49 days after the shooting, Hernandez’ body was discovered in the back of the van.

In an interview with WREG, Maris Morales, the ex-wife of Hernandez, said Hernandez came to the U.S. in 2006. They met on social media in 2010 and moved together from Florida to Memphis in 2013.

Morales described Hernandez as a hard worker in construction and at restaurants.

They have a 1-year-old child together and although they separated in June 2017, he treated her children from another relationship like his own, she said.

She says she last spoke with Hernandez Dec. 16, 2017, two days before the shooting.