Grand Prairie police make an arrest in a cold murder case in 2008

Grand Prairie police announced Thursday that the department had arrested a 16-year-old on unsolved murder charges.

Officers from the Grand Prairie and Lufkin police departments and the Texas Rangers arrested Jerry Lee Gardner, 44, at his home in Lufkin on Oct. 4, according to a news release. He faces a murder charge in connection with the death of 45-year-old Raymond Hernandez, who died in August 2008, the police statement said.

According to the news release, around 6:15 p.m. on August 8, 2008, Grand Prairie officers were called to a home in the 2600 block of Channing Drive to assist the Grand Prairie Fire Department with a structure fire.

Firefighters located Hernandez inside the residence, who was pronounced dead. An autopsy later determined that Hernandez was the victim of a homicide, the release said.

DNA from a possible suspect was found at the crime scene and entered into the Combined DNA Index System, a database maintained by the FBI that helps police link unknown DNA samples to possible suspects. When the sample was entered into CODIS in November 2008, no match was found.

In February 2022, Grand Prairie detectives began working with the Texas Rangers to utilize the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, the release said. Police also used genetic genealogy testing and developed a lead in September and confirmed it with a DNA sample, which ultimately led to police arresting Gardner.

Police said Gardner was booked into the Grand Prairie Detention Center and held on $1 million bail. .