Lincoln man who killed LPD Investigator Mario Herrera sentenced in deadly stabbing

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The man who killed Lincoln Police Investigator Mario Herrera was sentenced Friday in another homicide.

Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen ordered 20-year-old Felipe Vazquez to serve at least 17 years in prison in connection with the fatal stabbing of 36-year-old Edward Varejcka.

On March 8, 2020, officers found Varejcka suffering from multiple stab wounds at a home near Orchard and 22nd streets.

Witnesses told police that multiple men fought Varejcka over a phone.

Then, one of them stabbed him in the chest with a kitchen knife before all three ran away, according to an arrest affidavit.

SEE ALSO: Accomplice sentenced in slaying of Lincoln Police Investigator Mario Herrera

During the stabbing, a TV was thrown at Varejcka’s head.  Court documents said fingerprints found on the TV matched those of Vazquez.

He was originally charged with second-degree assault.  That was upgraded to a first-degree murder charge in 2022.

But last month, Vazquez entered a plea deal in which he pleaded no contest to a second-degree assault charge.

Vazquez is already serving a lengthy sentence for the killing of Herrera in 2020.

He was convicted on all seven charges on March 21, 2022, and sentenced to at least 71 years in prison.