A long-simmering North Side neighbor feud that ended with a deadly driveway encounter in September 2024 is back in the spotlight as key court dates approach. Newly obtained records and a grand jury indictment have given the victim’s family fresh hope that the case will finally reach a resolution.
San Antonio police say a man was struck and killed in the driveway on the morning of Sept. 30, 2024. Authorities later identified him as 56-year-old Stephen Sanders, according to KSAT. The woman who lives across the street was taken into custody and faces a murder charge, police said.
Records Show Months of Complaints
Documents obtained by MySA show nearly 40 incident reports tied to calls between the neighbors from Feb. 19 through Sept. 30, 2024, with most of those calls reportedly made by O'Rourke over noise and other minor disputes. Police reports from the night of the deadly incident describe front-end damage to a vehicle and note that an officer “also observed blood on the hood.” Prosecutors later brought the case to a grand jury, which returned an indictment in October 2025, the outlet reported.
Family Presses for Answers
“He was loved; he contributed to his neighbors. He did not deserve what happened,” Carla Sanders, the victim’s sister, told MySA. The family says the slow pace of the investigation and prosecution has been agonizing and that they plan to be in the courtroom when the case returns to the county docket.
Neighbors and Investigators Weigh What Happened
Neighbors told reporters the dispute had dragged on for months and was mostly rooted in relatively small issues like noise complaints, fence work and quarrels over pets, but it generated a steady paper trail for police. Initial coverage by the Express-News placed the deadly crash in the 1000 block of Putnam, a cul-de-sac off Big Meadows Lane, and detailed a history of civil disturbances between the two homes.
What to Watch in Court
O'Rourke is scheduled to appear before Judge Frank Castro of the 399th State District Court on Aug. 10, 2026. The hearing is expected to offer one of the first public looks at how prosecutors will frame the case and how the defense will respond. For now, neighbors and Sanders’ family say they are waiting to see whether the case heads to a full trial or ends through plea negotiations.
