SAN ANTONIO – More than a year after 14-year-old Simon Cuevas was shot and killed while walking home from school, his mother tells KSAT she is still searching for answers and fighting for justice for her son.
On Sept. 18, 19-year-old Fernando Flores was sentenced to 10 years of deferred adjudication in connection with Simon’s death, the latest development in the case.
Flores was one of five people charged after Simon was killed near Brewer Academy on April 16, 2025. Surveillance video captured a group following Simon as he left school.
Under deferred adjudication, a defendant is placed on community supervision without a final conviction. If he successfully completes the supervision and follows its terms without getting in trouble for the full 10 years, the case can be dismissed.
For Simon’s mother, Alejandra Cuevas, the outcome was another disappointment.
“I just feel like they’re not doing enough,” Cuevas told KSAT during an interview on Monday. “That doesn’t feel like justice has been served, I believe all should have been given the same prison sentence.”
The five people charged in connection with Simon’s death have faced different outcomes.
Andrew Cantu was sentenced to 10 years in prison in April after being convicted of injury to a child. He was originally charged with capital murder. Another suspect died by suicide. Two juvenile suspects, who are siblings, have been sentenced and sent to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. The sentence is indeterminate, so it is based on progress and behavior.
Cuevas said she has spent the past year and a half trying to piece together why this would happen to her son, along with stricter consequences were not passed down to the suspects by the courts.
“I’ve been doing my own investigation trying to figure out. It is upsetting,” Cuevas said. “I had already been in front of other prosecutors who had given me bad news before. Even the first time when they told me that there would be no murder charges, I felt angry.”
She said she will continue advocating for Simon and encourage others to protect kids in the community from violence. For Cuevas, the reality of this case is about more than court dates and sentences. It is about learning to live without her son, which she added has been difficult to put in words since the day she lost him.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” Cuevas said. “You know, every day is a reminder that my son’s no longer here.”
She remembers Simon for his smile and the time they spent together when he was younger.
“His smile is what I miss. When he did smile, he had like just brightest, beautiful smile,” Cuevas said about Simon. “If I had five more minutes with my son, I would just grab him, hold him and pick him up.”
Simon would have turned 16 years old on Nov. 5. Cuevas said she plans to continue remembering Simon and celebrate his birthday with friends and family close by.
However, she added that the fight for justice is not over.
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