Prince George’s County Judge Denies Motion to Move Hugo Hernandez-Mendez Murder Trial

A Prince George’s County judge on March 6 denied a defense motion seeking to move the murder trial of Hugo Hernandez‑Mendez out of Prince George’s County, a ruling that leaves the prosecution of the death of 19‑year‑old DaCara Thompson in local court. The brief report of the ruling noted the case had “garnered substantial local attention after T” but the sentence in the report is truncated and does not complete that explanation.

The partial court report provided the core facts: “What happened: A Prince George’s County judge denied a defense motion this week seeking to move the murder trial of Hugo Hernandez‑Mendez out of Prince George’s County. The decision means the trial in the death of 19‑year‑old DaCara Thompson — a case that garnered substantial local attention after T” — the excerpt ends there and does not identify the judge, the date of the order in calendar format, the legal grounds cited, or the trial date.

Key procedural details for the Hernandez‑Mendez case remain unspecified in the material made available. The report does not name the presiding judge, list formal charges or counts lodged against Hugo Hernandez‑Mendez, state whether prosecutors opposed the venue motion, or indicate whether Hernandez‑Mendez is in custody or released on conditions pending trial. Those items will determine the next steps on the Prince George’s County court calendar.

A separate, unrelated motion-denial in Texas reflected similar litigation over venue. In Harris County, a judge denied a request by a former deputy and her husband to have their murder trial moved out of Harris County, and “the decision came down Friday morning.” Terry and Chauna Thompson are charged in the chokehold death of John Hernandez outside a Denny’s in Crosby, and the incident happened in May 2017. The Thompsons had asked for their trial to be moved to another venue, “arguing there is prejudice against them in Harris County,” and “the couple also said investigators mishandled their case. Prosecutors deny those claims.” The judge in that matter also “has already denied the defense's request to remove the district attorney from the case,” and the Thompsons “are being tried separately starting in May.”

The two matters are unrelated despite the shared Thompson surname: DaCara Thompson is the victim named in the Prince George’s County matter, while Terry and Chauna Thompson are defendants in the Harris County Denny’s case. The Prince George’s County decision keeps Hugo Hernandez‑Mendez’s trial under local jurisdiction; further specifics — including the judge’s written order, formal charges, and any scheduled trial dates for Hernandez‑Mendez — were not included in the available report and remain to be released by the court.