The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Workplace on Friday recognized a person discovered useless on the Walker Ranch Trailhead — one among a minimum of two latest homicides on San Antonio’s trails.
Pete Hosea Castillo, 39, was discovered useless from a number of gunshot wounds sitting in an deserted golf cart lined by a tarp on Oct. 5. His loss of life was dominated a murder.
The San Antonio Police Division informed the San Antonio Report they don’t have any suspects at the moment.
And in October, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Workplace enlisted the assistance of San Antonio Crime Stoppers in soliciting new leads for the homicide of 63-year-old Stacey Dramiga, who went lacking on Sept. 22. Her physique was discovered the following day in a wooded space of the paths east of Dafoste Park.
Police have additionally dominated her loss of life a murder. They imagine she was murdered throughout a daytime stroll.
Path security has been prime of thoughts not too long ago for San Antonio trailgoers and path officers, who wish to know extra about latest homicides alongside the paths, regardless of assurances from metropolis and county legislation enforcement to the general public that the paths are secure to go to.
At a Tuesday Linear Creekway Parks and Advisory Board assembly, all however one board member had been silent about security on the paths as park staffers introduced future tasks to attach creek trails.
District 2 advisory board member Sue Calberg informed the board it ought to take into account requesting against the law statistics report from San Antonio Park Police, a division separate from the San Antonio Police Division that oversees path safety, given latest crime incidents alongside San Antonio trails.
She mentioned greater than 70 individuals gathered at Comanche Park Oct. 20 for a path security and self-defense occasion following the latest homicides.
“I’m simply chatting with the truth that persons are scared on the market,” she mentioned. “It’s in social media, persons are very involved about security.”
Calberg, a veteran TV information reporter for KENS5, informed the board that earlier incidents and these homicides level to the problem of significant crime occurring as town’s trails broaden.
On June 8, 26-year-old Navy veteran Jarvis McIntire was reported lacking whereas visiting San Antonio from St. Louis, Missouri, and was discovered useless in a wooded space close to Holbrook Highway on June 14 adjoining to the Salado Creek Hike and Bike Path.
Police couldn’t verify it was McIntire, however in a 9-1-1 name to police on June 9 from Holbrook Highway, a caller informed the dispatcher he was being chased by an individual with a rifle, however the caller didn’t present particular particulars about his location.
As of Friday, the trigger and method of McIntire’s loss of life is undetermined.
That very same month on June 28, a lady was set on hearth whereas she was sitting in her car alongside the Salado Creek, close to the Rice Highway trailhead. She survived, however suffered extreme burns on her legs and arms. A suspect has been arrested for arson inflicting bodily damage.
And 37-year-old Moody Arteaga, who had been lacking for weeks, was final seen Aug. 27, when he deliberate to take a stroll on the Leon Creek Path. He was discovered floating at a SAWS remedy plant — greater than 22 miles away on the South Facet — on Sept. 7.
Though the homicides occurred on separate trailways, all of them belong to a community of trails throughout town.
Officers say the homicides are being investigated as remoted incidents and encourage everybody to pay attention to their environment and report suspicious exercise.
SAPD Spokesman Ricardo Guzman informed the San Antonio Report that the crimes Park Police reply to are reported on the group crime map by offense date and time.
However as a result of the BCSO is dealing with Dramiga’s Oct. 5 murder, and since Castillo’s time of loss of life is unknown, these two deaths alongside the paths weren’t mirrored on the SAPD crime map as of Friday.
Crime map knowledge is reported by ZIP code on the map and by avenue block numbers, town mentioned, so the map doesn’t present precisely the place crime is going on alongside San Antonio trails.
General, violent crime is down in San Antonio, largely attributed to town’s sizzling spot policing technique. However the company doesn’t launch particular areas alongside its hotspot plan for officer security, so it’s unknown if areas on the path are included within the hotspots.
As the paths broaden and embody extra of town, extra individuals will turn into conscious of and use them, mentioned Creek Manner Path Advisory Board Chair John Kent. Kent added that a few of these wooded areas embrace homeless encampments, a difficulty town acknowledged in an announcement to the San Antonio Report.
After the assembly on Wednesday, he mentioned he believes that the homicides had been remoted and random.
The creekway parks advisory board declined a request for a Park Police crime statistics report in its assembly final month, however requested one for its upcoming Dec. 10 assembly.
“It was simply too early. We don’t know any details,” Kent mentioned. “It’s been a month later now and we nonetheless don’t know something…
The place are the recent spots and what are they doing about it? Have they got a job power to focus on these areas? … We don’t know but.”
The town’s parks division communicated plans so as to add extra emergency name towers alongside the paths, however these plans are nonetheless within the design section.
Metropolis spokesman Luke Simons mentioned town has over 100 park police patrolling the parks day and evening on ATV automobiles, using bikes, and strolling the paths.
SAPD has already added patrol officers and elevated the frequency of patrolling alongside the trailways, he mentioned.
“Including extra officers is a call that must be introduced to and voted on by the Metropolis Council,” he mentioned in an announcement. “If the group feels the necessity for extra Park Police, that may be expressed to their council members and be introduced forth in future metropolis council finances classes.”
When you imagine you will have any data on the latest homicides, name the SAPD Murder Unit at 210-207-7635.
