LA County judge postpones arraignment for soccer coach accused of killing teen

The youth soccer coach accused of killing a 13-year-old boy will wait until June to enter his plea after his arraignment was delayed once again.

Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino, 43, is charged in the death of Oscar Omar Hernandez, who was last seen when he left his Sun Valley home on March 28 to meet Garcia-Aquino in Lancaster, according to his family. He was found dead in Oxnard five days later. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman charged Garcia-Aquino with murder, including special circumstances for lewd acts with a child. Hochman said that Garcia-Aquino killed the boy on March 28, two days before he was reported missing. 

Garcia-Aquino's arraignment was also postponed on April 8. He's now expected back in court on June 18. 

The family's attorney, Luis Carrillo, said the teen's mother, Gladys Hernandez, demanded justice. 

"She was saying her son cannot come back, but she wants justice to be done," Carrillo said after translating for Hernandez's mother.

As the case against Garcia-Aquino moves forward, more about his history with law enforcement has been unveiled. According to the District Attorney's Office, the soccer coach was first arrested by the LA County Sheriff's Department for an unrelated child sexual assault case in February 2024. Garcia-Aquino also faces child sexual abuse charges stemming from a 2022 case that the Los Angeles Police Department investigated. 

"Both district attorneys, Gascón and Hochman, they let it sit there for nine or 10 months, that was a travesty of justice in my opinion," Carrillo said. "That delay led to this tragedy, in my opinion."

The Los Angeles Times reported that Garcia-Aquino's earlier case sat among nearly 10,000 backlogged cases.

In a statement, Hochman's office said it inherited an ineffective filing system that led to this backlog. They said addressing this issue continues to be their top priority. His office added that over the past five months, they've reduced the number of backlogged cases to roughly 8,000.

Gladys said she wants Garcia-Aquino to face the full weight of the law. 

"If the DA seeks the death penalty, the jury has the ultimate word on that," Carrillo said. "Either way, he has to be taken off the streets. He is such a danger to young boys."