From staff reports
After more than a year on the run, Daniel Adame-Guatemala, 23, is in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center, charged in the February 2022 murder of his stepfather.
Shortly before 8 p.m. on February 4, 2022, deputies responded to Godwin Mobile Home Park on Joe Frazier Road in Burton for the report of a gunshot victim. Once there, deputies located 29-year-old Christian Hernandez, who was pronounced dead on scene.
Through witness interviews, Adame-Guatemala who was 22-years-old at the time, was identified as the person who shot and killed Hernandez. Hernandez was married to Adame-Guatemala’s mother.
Following the crime, Adame-Guatemala left the home in a pickup truck prior to the arrival of law enforcement. Warrants for his arrest were obtained and he was listed in the National Crime Information Center as wanted for murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
Through the investigation, it was learned Adame-Guatemala escaped to Mexico. Sheriff’s Office investigators, along with U.S. Marshals Service and Mexican authorities, worked together to locate him; however, Adame-Guatemala once again evaded arrest, fleeing to South America.
In July 2023, United States Customs and Border Protection captured Adame-Guatemala trying to cross the border illegally. He was arrested in Hildago County, Texas on July 5, 2023. Adame-Guatemala waived extradition. U.S. Marshals Service transported him from Texas to Al Cannon Detention Center in Charleston on August 8, 2023, where members of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office took him into custody.
Adame-Guatemala was booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center on August 8, 2023 and served warrants for murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. His initial court appearance is scheduled for October 13, 2023 at 9 a.m. in General Sessions Court.
