San Antonio police apologized Thursday for their “premature” statement declaring there was no evidence of a hate crime in the murder of Jonathan Joss.
Joss, a voice actor known for playing John Redcorn in “King of the Hill,” was fatally shot on June 1 outside his San Antonio home. His neighbor, 56-year-old Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, was arrested and booked on a murder charge in connection with the incident, police said.
San Antonio Police said in a statement the following day, saying that “despite online claims of this being a hate crime, currently the investigation has found no evidence to indicate that Mr. Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation.”
That statement sparked outrage and was refuted by Joss’ husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, who believes his husband was killed for his sexual orientation.
Chief William P. McManus retracted that statement on Thursday.
“Shouldn’t have done it. [It] was way too soon before we had real information, and I will own that,” McManus said. “It was way too early in the process for any statement of that nature to be issued.”
“We understand that many in the LGBTQ+ community are feeling anxious and concerned. A lot of it has to do with that premature statement that we released, and again, I own that. Shouldn’t have done it,” he continued.
Tristan Kern de Gonzales and Jonathan Joss.Courtesy Tristan Kern de Gonzales
McManus clarified that in Texas, hate crimes are not separate charges and are addressed as sentencing enhancements.
“We don’t charge with hate crimes. We gather the facts and we give those facts to the district attorney’s office, and that hate crime designation is determined at sentencing, but we don’t charge hate crime,” he said.
McManus also said there were concerns surrounding the history Joss had in the neighborhood leading up to the shooting.
A review of police records and interviews with neighbors and Kern de Gonzalez showed the couple had issues with neighbors. Kern De Gonzalez claimed many neighbors would hurl anti-gay slurs at them and complain about them being “loud.”
McManus said Thursday that over the past two years, there have been 70 calls involving neighborhood-type disturbances. Sometimes, Joss is the caller, and other times, the neighbors are calling on him.
The police’s mental health unit had “extensive engagements with Mr. Joss, making repeated efforts to remediate conflicts and connect him with services he may have needed,” the police chief said.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Ceja was released on $200,000 bond on June 2 and was ordered to not purchase nor possess any firearms and issued a no contact order. He is awaiting indictment.
A court-appointed attorney for Ceja did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
