The capital murder trial of Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, an illegal alien from Cuba accused of decapitating a co-worker at a Dallas motel last year, is not expected to begin before late spring or early summer 2027. No trial date was set at a status hearing Thursday.
He is charged with capital murder in the September 10, 2025, killing of Chandra “Bob” Nagamallaiah at the Downtown Suites motel, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Prosecutors have said they will not pursue the death penalty, and the state is expected to give Judge Lela Lawrence Mays a final decision in January, Fox 4 reported.
Prosecutor Jessica Lynch told the court that her office has been turning over discovery to the defense, including data pulled from the cell phones of the victim and the defendant.
Court-appointed defense attorney Lalon “Clipper” Peale told the judge his team is not ready to move forward.
“We still have a huge hole in our investigation,” Peale said, reported Fox 4.
He declined to detail that gap because reporters were in the courtroom. Peale also said he has not been able to travel to Cuba to conduct research related to his client. He cited visa delays as a central obstacle.
“People look at flight records and say, ‘Well, there’s flights leaving today.’ It’s not just the flights, though, it’s the visas to get there. And as the state now knows, it’s a six-month wait to do that. So, just to let the court know that, and obviously we got other issues that we’ve been dealing with the court on that we can talk in chambers about, but that kind of dovetails into the issues that I’m dealing with and talking to the court about,” Peale said.
The hearing ended without a trial date being set.
The Allegations
According to an arrest affidavit, Cobos-Martinez was cleaning a room at the motel with a co-worker when Nagamallaiah, their boss, told them not to use a broken washing machine. The affidavit states Cobos-Martinez became angry that Nagamallaiah spoke to the co-worker to translate rather than addressing him directly.
Cobos-Martinez allegedly left the room, returned with a machete, and began attacking Nagamallaiah, who ran toward the front office as he was chased through the parking lot. The victim’s wife and son came out of the office and tried to intervene but were pushed away, according to the affidavit.
Police said Cobos-Martinez took the victim’s cell phone and a lanyard with a key card during the attack before severing his head. The affidavit states he kicked the head twice across the parking lot, then carried it to a dumpster. Dallas Fire-Rescue followed him as he walked away covered in blood and still holding the machete until officers took him into custody.
Immigration and Criminal History
Cobos-Martinez is an illegal alien from Cuba with a prior criminal record in California, Florida, and Houston. According to a September 12, 2025, Department of Homeland Security release, he had a final order of removal to Cuba and was most recently in ICE custody at the Bluebonnet Detention Center before he was released on an order of supervision on January 13, 2025. DHS said he was released because Cuba would not accept him because of his criminal history.
DHS said his record includes grand theft of a motor vehicle, false imprisonment, and carjacking. Public records show he had an active California probation-violation warrant at the time of the killing. In 2017, he carjacked a woman in South Lake Tahoe while naked and was convicted by a jury in 2023, resulting in an 18-month prison sentence. In Harris County, he was charged in 2018 with aggravated assault and indecency with a child; the indecency charge was later dismissed for insufficient evidence, and the assault case was reduced to a misdemeanor, the Houston Chronicle reported.
After the Dallas killing, ICE lodged a detainer with the Dallas County Jail for his federal arrest and removal, DHS said.
“This gruesome, savage slaying of a victim at a motel by Yordanis Cobos-Martinez was completely preventable if this criminal illegal alien was not released into our country by the Biden Administration since Cuba would not take him back,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said. “This is exactly why we are removing criminal illegal aliens to third countries. President Trump and Secretary Noem are no longer allowing barbaric criminals to indefinitely remain in America. If you come to our country illegally, you could end up in Eswatini, Uganda, South Sudan, or CECOT.”
Provided by Dallas Express
