A detainer hold has been placed on Yordanis Cobos Martinez, 37, of Cuba by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He is being held without bond on a capital murder charge at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Dallas, Texas, USA.
Originally from Mayari, Cuba, Cobos is Odalis Martínez Rodríguez‘s son and Mayra Rodríguez‘s grandson. He once lived in Holguin, Cuba.
Yordanis Cobos
On April 2, 2016, Cobos left Cuba and was admitted into the U.S. where he was permitted to remain for one year. He allegedly committed a killing in Mayari before fleeing to the U.S.
In 2017, Cobos did not leave the U.S. and has since been illegally staying in the country. That year, he was arrested in South Lake Tahoe, California, USA after trying to carjack a woman, then 22, while he was naked.
In 2018, Cobos was arrested in Harris County, Texas, booked into the Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas and charged with indecency with a child. He was represented by Stephen Touchstone, who said the charge was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
While Cobos was incarcerated, no immigration hold was placed on him, according to Touchstone. Accused of breaking a jailer’s jaw during a fight in prison months after he was booked there, the man from Mayari was charged with aggravated assault.
In 2023, Cobos pled guilty to a misdemeanor assault. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment but he was credited with more than 1,700 days already served.
Days after pleading guilty, Cobos was extradited back to California where a jury acquitted him of carjacking but convicted him of false imprisonment. In August 2023, he was placed on probation but months later, he absconded so a violation order was issued.
Eventually, Cobos was taken into immigration custody then booked into the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas. On January 13, 2025, he was released under supervision because there were no removal flights to Cuba, which refused to take him back.
After Cobos was released, he worked at the Downtown Suites motel on Samuell Boulevard in Dallas. His supervisor was Chandra Mouli Nagamallaiah, who is of Indian descent.
Chandra Nagamallaiah
Nagamallaiah was Nisha Nagamallaiah‘s husband. She gave birth to their son Gaurav Nagamallaiah in 2007.
At 9:26 a.m. on September 10, 2025, Chandra told Cobos that he could not use a broken washing machine while they were at work at the Downtown Suites motel. The Cuban man got angry because his supervisor was using a witness to translate instead of speaking directly to him.
Using a machete, Cobos repeatedly hacked Chandra in front of Nisha and Gaurav, who unsuccessfully tried to stop the attacker. The Cuban man decapitated his supervisor, who was 50, and left the head in a dumpster.
Minutes after committing the crime, Cobos was arrested. In a recorded interview, he admitted to killing Chandra.
CONAN Daily 