Accomplice sentenced in slaying of Lincoln Police Investigator Mario Herrera

LINCOLN, Neb. — The man who was with Felipe Vazquez when he shot and killed Lincoln Police Investigator Mario Herrera was sentenced on Friday.

U.S. District Judge John Gerrard sentenced 21-year-old Orion J. Ross to 30 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

On Aug. 26, 2020, Herrera was with officers serving an arrest warrant for Vazquez.

SEE ALSO: Felipe Vazquez now facing murder charge in 2020 slaying

But Vazquez and Ross, who were both members of the No Name Demons gang, barricaded themselves in a bedroom.

Officers commanded Vazquez to come out, but he escaped through a window.

As he was running away, he shot Herrera, who died 12 days later.

The judge found that Ross told Vazquez where to get the gun, which was in the bedroom they were hiding in.

He also shattered the bedroom window, allowing Vazquez to escape, Gerrard ruled.

SEE ALSO: Felipe Vazquez found guilty of the murder of LPD Investigator Mario Herrera

The judge also sentenced Ross to six years of post-prison supervised release.

Ross’s indictment included 11 fellow gang members, most of whom have already been sentenced.

“As a member of a violent gang, Orion Ross terrorized Lincoln neighborhoods; ultimately leading to the death of one of our own,” Eugene Kowel, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Omaha office, said in a press release. “Ross may not have pulled the trigger, but his actions make him just as responsible for the killing of Officer Mario Herrera. While no sentence will bring Officer Herrera back or end his family’s pain, the FBI, and our federal, local, and state partners in the Lincoln Safe Streets Gang Task Force, hope they can take some comfort in the fact this violent gang has been dismantled and its members are behind bars.”

Vazquez, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, is serving a lengthy prison sentence for Herrera’s murder.