San Antonio Officer Faces Trial Over 2018 Couch Shooting That Killed Teen

A federal jury in San Antonio began hearing testimony Wednesday in the civil trial over the 2018 shooting death of Charles Roundtree Jr., an unarmed 18-year-old who was sitting on a couch with friends when San Antonio Police Officer Steve Casanova opened fire into the home. The trial, expected to last about a week, comes nearly eight years after the shooting and follows a failed attempt at mediation once jury selection had concluded.

Roundtree's family, along with survivors DeVante Snowden and Taylor Singleton, are suing Casanova and the City of San Antonio, alleging the officer used excessive force and that the police department failed to train, supervise and discipline him, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The lawsuit seeks financial damages, including funeral and burial costs and attorney's fees. The city has denied the allegations and defended Casanova's actions, describing the shooting in 2022 as justified based on the facts and applicable law.

A Knock at the Wrong Door

The shooting happened on October 17, 2018, after Casanova responded to a call about someone being punched in the face on the 200 block of Roberts Street on San Antonio's West Side. Body-camera video showed Casanova shined a flashlight into the home and opened the door without identifying himself, according to the Express-News report. People inside said the flashlight blinded them and they could not tell police were at the door.

Police said Snowden aggressively approached Casanova and tried to grab a gun from his waist, prompting the officer to fire. Casanova's gunshots hit Roundtree in the chest, grazed Snowden, and nearly hit Singleton, who was also inside the home. Investigators later said a gun was found outside the house, but could not find Snowden's DNA on the weapon, and the Express-News reports the body-camera footage called the police narrative into question.

Acquittal and a Federal Fight Over Immunity

Snowden was arrested on a charge of felon in possession of a firearm and, according to court filings cited in legal analysis, spent 10 months in jail awaiting trial before a Bexar County jury acquitted him after learning his DNA was not on the recovered handgun. A Bexar County grand jury separately declined to indict Casanova on criminal charges in 2019, a decision Bexar County District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales announced that July while extending sympathy to Roundtree's family, according to KSAT.

With state criminal charges off the table, the federal civil lawsuit became the remaining avenue for accountability. U.S. District Judge Jason Pulliam denied a motion for summary judgment in 2022, finding that evidence contradicted the city's and San Antonio Police Department's version of events. Casanova and the city had asked the federal court to dismiss the case outright, but the ruling allowed it to proceed toward trial.

Appeals Court Rejects Immunity Claim

Casanova's legal team continued fighting the case on appeal, arguing he should be shielded by qualified immunity. But on June 10, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the lower court's denial of that immunity, ruling that firing into an occupied residence without warning presented genuine factual disputes over whether Casanova violated the Fourth Amendment, according to legal reporting from Techdirt. Court filings and body-camera analysis referenced by the outlet indicate Casanova discharged two rounds into the living room within five seconds of opening the front door, during what officers had described as a routine knock-and-talk visit. The same reporting noted the 911 assault complaint that sent officers to the home described a suspect who did not match anyone found inside — a tall, bald Black male in a gray sweater and blue jeans — while the occupants were sitting on a couch listening to music.

Court records cited in reporting from the Express-News also detail the chaotic aftermath: after gunfire was exchanged, officers retreated while people inside the home, unaware that police had fired, dialed 911 and attempted CPR on Roundtree. More than 15 minutes passed before emergency medical responders arrived.

Who Was Charles Roundtree

Family and friends knew Roundtree as “Chop.” He was 18, working a restaurant job to support a child he believed was his son, and had planned to enlist in the U.S. military, according to background reporting compiled by the NYT Institute. In 2020, he was among 22 victims of police violence honored by the Seattle Seahawks during national social justice demonstrations, a recognition detailed by the San Antonio Current.

When body-camera footage of the shooting was publicly released in 2019, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus defended Casanova's conduct as “very professional,” saying there was nothing hostile about his approach, according to reporting from Black Wall St. Times at the time. That defense stood in contrast to the findings that would later shape the federal courts' skepticism of the department's account.

Legal Team and What Comes Next

Dallas-based civil rights attorney Daryl Washington represents Bernice Roundtree, Snowden and Singleton in the federal case, according to reporting from KENS5. The parties entered mediation for a possible settlement after jury selection but failed to reach an agreement, sending the case to trial this week. Jurors began hearing testimony Wednesday, with the proceedings expected to continue for about a week as both sides present their competing accounts of what happened inside the small West Side home nearly eight years ago.