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.
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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.