Say His Name: Fernando Moreno
Fernando Moreno was 16 years old when he was shot in the head by a local thug named Michael Cu.
Cu used a high powered rifle to discharge seven rounds into Fernando’s head and body.
Fernando was a good kid from a hard working family. He worked nights and attended Clark High School during the day.
So why did Michael Cu murder Fernando? To get the rims on his car.
As it turns out, Fernando’s rims didn’t even fit Cu’s vehicle.
Sometimes we fail to humanize stories and statistics. Please don’t make that mistake as you read this article. Slow down for a minute.
Imagine the terror Fernando experienced seeing a gun pointed at him, and trying to make sense of what was happening.
Fernando would have had acid in his stomach, involuntary shaking, sweating, and some nausea while obeying Cu’s order to drive into the desert.
Imagine what Fernando thought as he was ordered out of the car, to walk a bit, and then to kneel. My guess is, Fernando’s last thoughts were of his mother.
Then imagine the smell of Fernando’s guts as they were blown out of his body, or the smell of Cu’s gunshots. Imagine the life oozing out of Fernando’s body, and the light going out of his eyes.
A man training homing pigeons found Fernando’s decaying remains. Autopsy showed a fatal shot was fired point blank into Fernando’s head. In forensics we know up close is personal.
When I was a police officer in a very violent city, I met murderers like Cu.
As a social psychologist I know it takes a special type of sociopath to cooly carry out the step-wise murder of another person.
This wasn’t a crime of passion happening in a moment.
Michael Cu spent time with Fernando during the drive and the walk.
He heard Fernando’s voice and smelled his sweat. Cu could have called the murder off at any time – but he didn’t.
It takes a special type of evil to get up close, put a gun barrel to a person’s head, and pull the trigger.
At sentencing, Fernando’s mom pleaded with the judge to make sure Michael Cu never would be released from prison, saying “I’m afraid because I have more children.”
The judge granted her plea and sentenced Michael Cu to life in prison.
This is where the partnership of Aaron Ford and Teresa Benitez Thompson comes into the picture.
Aaron Ford could not run the Nevada Attorney General’s office without the help of his Chief of Staff, Teresa Benitez Thompson.
It was Aaron and Teresa who filed dozens of lawsuits against President Trump–something they brag about.
And it was Teresa Benitez Thompson who ran the day to day operations of the AG’s office while Ford was out of the state for long periods of time.
Think of Aaron and Teresa as joined at the hip.
No one can really explain why leftists such as Aaron and Teresa are emptying the jails and prisons, sending violent predators like Michael Cu back onto the street, other than this is part of the grand plan of Democrats and socialists to turn everything upside down.
To them, violent predators don’t belong in prison; rather, it is humane to release them, to try to rehabilitate them, and hope for the best.
On December 16, 2025, as a member of the Pardons Board, Aaron Ford voted “YES” to commute Michael Cu’s sentence, and make him eligible for parole in 10 years. Governor Lombardo voted “NO”.
Now Fernando’s mom may have to move, hide, change her name, and hope Cu doesn’t find her.
In addition to being Aaron Ford’s enabler, Teresa Benitez Thompson spent years in the Nevada Assembly pushing against the people.
· In 2019, Teresa voted for AB 236, a sweeping rewrite of Nevada criminal law that lowered penalties for theft and drug crimes, raised the amount of drugs needed to trigger felony possession and trafficking charges, and allowed earlier parole for some offenses. District attorneys and law enforcement pushed back. Every Republican in the Assembly voted “NO.” Teresa voted “YES”.
· In 2021 Teresa voted “YES” for AB 424, which required pretrial release hearings within 48 hours of arrest and let courts adopt standing orders to release people charged with misdemeanors without bail.
I live in Congressional District 2. We don’t want Aaron Ford as Governor, nor Teresa Benitez Thompson as our Member of Congress.
Just say “NO” to Aaron and Teresa.
Eric Nelson is a criminologist specializing in police investigation of domestic violence, short term estimation of time of death, re-analysis of questionable death cases, and false accusations of rape and domestic violence. Eric earned a doctorate in Criminology & Criminal Justice from the University of California, Davis. He also holds three masters degrees, in Forensic Science, Family Therapy, and Sociology. He is a retired Assistant Clinical Professor, former police officer specializing in the investigation of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse, and a honorably discharged Marine Corps counterintelligence specialist. The FBI published his six step best practice model for the investigation of domestic violence, a method that triples rates of prosecution and doubles rates of conviction. Dr. Nelson has many peer reviewed publications and is a referee for a dozen scholarly journals. He lives in Lyon county, Nevada. The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. Digital technology may have been used in the research, writing, or production of this article. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
