Detectives with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the death of a 26 year old man who was shot to death Thursday night while drinking with two other men in a field in East Knox County.

Dead is 26 year old Marco Antonio Hernandez of Elkins Road.  According to the Incident Report, a Knoxville Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop on a 1997 Pontiac Firebird on I-640 at Millertown Pike.  When the officer approached the car he saw the victim laying in the backseat covered in blood with a handgun next to him.  Emergency Medical Technicians responded to the scene and said that Hernandez was dead.

Enrique Flores	Marco Herdandez

KPD officers discovered upon further investigation that the shooting occurred at 6301 Asheville Highway, which is in the county and turned it over to KCSO.  An autopsy was performed Friday, but the preliminary results are not being released because the investigation is on-going.

One of the two witnesses, 26 year old Enrique Flores, no address available, said an unknown man came up to them while they were drinking and listening to music and began shooting into their direction.  He said the gunman ran away, but left his gun and they placed it in the car along with Hernandez as they went for help.  Detectives are looking for the other witness, 28 year old Leobardo Capuchino Torres (no address).

Hernandez had a criminal record of pubic intoxication, DUI, and reckless driving.  Flores is being held in the Knox County Jail for a failure to appear on a public intoxication charge.  His bond is set at $1,000.  Torres also has a criminal record of driving without a license and domestic assault.  A mug shot for Torres is not available at this time.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the KCSO at 215-2243.