A 26-year-old man is now in custody, accused of opening fire on a family barbecue on San Antonio’s Southwest Side in 2022, killing two people and wounding five others. The arrest comes nearly four years after shots were sprayed into the front yard of a home in the 2500 block of Patron Drive, and authorities say the suspect is being held without bond.
According to San Antonio Express-News, Darius Patric Torres, 26, was taken into custody Tuesday and charged with capital murder of multiple persons. A judge ordered him held without bond at the Bexar County Jail after prosecutors argued the arrest violated his probation in a 2022 drug case. Court records and an arrest affidavit state that Torres had been wanted since October 2023.
As reported by KSAT, the shooting erupted on the night of June 18, 2022, when a gray Dodge Durango with fog lamps drove past a front-yard barbecue and someone opened fire with roughly 20 to 30 rounds. Two men, 46-year-old Juan Gomez and 45-year-old Alejandro Gomez-Soliz, were pronounced dead at the scene, while two women and three men were taken to area hospitals with gunshot wounds. Six children who were inside the home during the barrage were not physically injured, police said.
Investigation and suspects
Investigators identified three men in an arrest affidavit as suspects in the case: Torres, Nathan Alexander Martinez and Christian Mark Jimenez. Martinez was arrested in November 2023 and is awaiting trial on capital murder and related aggravated assault charges, while Jimenez remains at large, according to San Antonio Express-News. Authorities say the case remains active as prosecutors continue building evidence for trial.
What the charge means
In Texas, a capital murder conviction can result in either the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. The outcome depends on whether prosecutors seek the death penalty and how a jury answers specific sentencing questions. The process for capital prosecutions, including separate sentencing proceedings, is set out in state law, as detailed in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.
Torres is being held at the Bexar County Jail while the case moves through the courts. Martinez also remains jailed awaiting trial, and Jimenez is still being sought by investigators. Police continue to urge anyone with information about the shooting or Jimenez’s whereabouts to contact San Antonio detectives, as reported by KSAT.
