Following Public Outcry, San Antonio Police Are Investigating Jonathan Joss’ Murder As A Possible Hate Crime
After swiftly dismissing claims that the murder of King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation actor Tristan Kern de Gonzalez more seriously.
On June 1st at roughly 7 p.m., SAPD alleges that Joss’ neighbor, Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, drove up to Joss’ property and began arguing with the actor before drawing a gun and shooting Joss multiple times before driving away. Police officers arrested Ceja just one block from the scene of the murder, and they claim that Ceja itted to shooting his neighbor during the arrest. Ceja has been charged with felony first degree murder.
As Gonzalez declared shortly after the murder, the official story is far from a complete of both the lead-up to the murder and the heinous act itself. Gonzalez claims that the murder of his husband followed years of homophobic harassment and intimidation, and San Antonio City Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez ed Gonzalez in expressing outrage that SAPD had refused to investigate the shooting as a possible hate crime.
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Then, on Thursday, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus walked back his department's past claim that there was “no evidence whatsoever to indicate that Mr. Joss’ murder was related to his sexual orientation,” calling the initial comment “premature” and promising that his department is investigating the role that Joss’ sexual orientation may have played in his murder.
“I will own that and simply say again that we simply shouldn’t have done that,” McManus said of SAPD’s dismissal of hate crime allegations just a couple days after Joss’ death. “It was way too early in the process for any statement of that nature to be issued.”
McManus further itted that many LGBTQ+ citizens in the San Antonio community “are feeling anxious and concerned” following the despicable murder, and that “a lot of it has to do with that premature statement.”
McManus further noted, “The loss of Jonathan Joss was tragic, most heavily felt by the LGBTQ+ community.” But, since the state of Texas doesn’t have separate charges for hate crimes, it may still be some time until San Antonio’s LGBTQ+ residents find closure on the concerning nature of Joss’ murder. “We gather the facts, and we give those facts to the district attorney’s office. And then that hate crime designation is determined at sentencing,” McManus explained of the process.
Last night, Pride Center San Antonio held a vigil for community to mourn Joss and express their solidarity.
