Before allegedly beheading a Dallas motel manager last week, Yordanis Cobos-Martinez had already built a criminal arrest record across Florida, California and Texas, according to court and law enforcement records.
Cobos-Martinez, 37, is charged with capital murder in the death of Chandra Nagamallaiah, who police say was attacked with a machete in front of his wife and child at a Dallas motel on September 10. Cobos-Martinez is currently being held at the Dallas County Jail.
Court records reviewed by the CBS News Texas I-Team show Cobos-Martinez, a Cuban national, had been arrested multiple times over the past eight years.
Cobos-Martinez was arrested in Florida in 2017
In 2017, he was arrested in Florida by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office for felony grand theft auto after allegedly stealing a Mercedes-Benz. The charge was later dropped.
That same year, Cobos-Martinez was arrested in California
Later that year, Cobos-Martinez was arrested in South Lake Tahoe, California, for attempted carjacking. According to the police report, he tried to drag a woman from her car, climbed in with her, and assaulted her. He was released on bail and then fled the state.
Arrested in Harris County in 2018
In 2018, he was arrested in Harris County, Texas, for indecency with a child. That charge was dismissed due to insufficient evidence. While in jail awaiting trial, Cobos-Martinez allegedly punched a jailer in the jaw, according to his court-appointed attorney. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to one year in jail. But since he had already served more than four years awaiting trial, he was released.
Cobos-Martinez extradited to California
Shortly after, officials extradited him back to California to face charges from the 2017 carjacking case. A jury acquitted him of carjacking but convicted him of false imprisonment. He was placed on probation in August 2023, but El Dorado County prosecutors told the I-Team he fled again.
Held in ICE detention in Texas
Cobos-Martinez was eventually arrested by police in Texas on a fugitive charge and taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, about 150 miles west of Fort Worth…