A San Antonio man once indicted as a “habitual offender” in a fatal apartment shooting will serve no prison time after a Bexar County judge placed him on 10 years of deferred adjudication. Juan Gabriel Medina, now 41, was originally charged with murder in the March 31, 2022, death of Davian Corey Mendoza. The murder charge was waived before sentencing in favor of a second-degree felony weapons case.
Medina’s outcome was detailed by KSAT, which reported that visiting Judge Kevin M. O’Connell presided over the case in Bexar County’s 290th Criminal District Court. Court records show Medina received deferred adjudication for unlawfully carrying a weapon as a previously convicted felon, while separate firearm-possession and marijuana charges were dismissed Friday.
What Police Said Happened Inside The Apartment
An SAPD incident report said officers were called to an apartment complex around 7:15 p.m. and found Mendoza with a gunshot wound to the face. Medina told police he had gone there to help a woman move out because of alleged family violence involving Mendoza, then argued with Mendoza over the woman’s birth certificate.
According to the report, Medina said Mendoza appeared to reach into his pocket before pulling out a knife. Medina said he grabbed a pistol from the woman’s sister and shot Mendoza, while the gun owner and another apartment resident reportedly corroborated key parts of his account. Detectives later released Medina after questioning, and officers dropped him off at his mother’s home while the investigation continued.
Deferred Adjudication Still Comes With Court Supervision
Deferred adjudication is a form of community supervision rather than an immediate prison sentence. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice says that if the person completes the court-ordered conditions, the charge can be dismissed without a conviction, although arrest, prosecution and supervision records remain; a violation can lead to revocation of supervision.
Indictment Came Nearly Two Years After The Shooting
A Bexar County grand jury indicted Medina on March 25, 2024, nearly two years after Mendoza was killed. Police arrested him during an April 11, 2024, traffic stop after learning he had an active warrant, according to KSAT’s courthouse report.
The indictment labeled Medina a “habitual offender” based on separate felony convictions from 2005 and 2011. The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office later recused itself, saying its motion was granted in October 2024 and that the office had no involvement or oversight in the eventual outcome.
The result leaves a case that began with a deadly shooting and a murder indictment ending in a decade of court supervision instead of incarceration. Medina will remain under the court’s conditions, with the possibility of dismissal if he completes the term successfully.
