Brooklyn dad puts son in jail after he becomes suspect in murder of his mom
EXCLUSIVE: Apollo Hernandez, 29, was out on bail on charges of raping a relative. But when his dad, Alfred Hernandez, learned the young man was suspected of slashing his mom’s throat on Saturday, he returned to court and demanded the bail money back. The dad explained that his son was emotionally disturbed and was dangerous to others.
BY OREN YANIV
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, December 24, 2014, 2:30 AM
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A Brooklyn man who was out on bail on charges of raping a relative was thrown back in jail — by his own father’s request — after becoming a suspect in the gruesome slaying of his mom, the Daily News has learned.
Apollo Hernandez, 29, was accused earlier this year of sexually assaulting a teenager in 2008 and released on $3,500 bail posted by his dad, records show.
The father, Alfred Hernandez, rushed to Brooklyn Criminal Court Monday night and asked for the bail back, explaining that his emotionally disturbed son “can be a danger to himself or others,” prosecutors said.
He had a good reason to worry.
On Saturday morning, Ruth Maceira, 48, was found with her neck slashed in her Bushwick apartment.
Apollo Hernandez became the prime suspect, sources said.
His mom was a witness in his incest case, with the alleged victim reporting an old rape to her back in the spring, said a source.
A source said the authorities are waiting for some evidence from the Grove St. scene to be analyzed before they can potentially pin the woman’s stabbing on Hernandez.
The suspect was taken in after the homicide, but refused to answer questions and lawyered up, the source told The News.
THEODORE PARISIENNE/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWSRuth Maceira, 48, was found dead in her apartment at 116 Grove St. in Brooklyn on Saturday. Her son, Apollo Hernandez, is a suspect in the murder.
Cops then did what they could to ensure the suspect was no longer on the streets.
They used an open warrant for littering to haul him to court, records show, and his dad’s request to exonerate the bail took care of the rest.
“It was heartbreaking for him to ask for the bail back with the kid there,” said a court insider.
“He wanted him to get help.”
Alfred Hernandez never married Maceira and the two are believed to have been estranged.
On Tuesday, his son, now held on the $3,500 bail, was ordered to come back to court — in a jail bus this time — on Jan. 6 for a hearing on the rape case.
After getting arrested on that rap back in May, Hernandez told detectives “that this was a family matter and has been handled as a family matter and that defendant would not talk about it any further,” a court document shows.
His lawyer declined to comment.
