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Jonathan Joss shooting: Police reverse claim of 'no evidence' of hate crime
Taijuan Moorman
San Antonio police are backing off their original claim that there is "no evidence" of a hate crime in the shooting death of Jonathan Joss, at least for now.
In a press conference on June 5, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said that the department's earlier statement saying there was "no evidence" Joss' murder was "related to his sexual orientation" was "way premature" and "before we had any real information."
McManus said San Antonio homicide detectives and San Antonio Fire Department arson investigators are actively investigating the murder of Joss, best known as the voice actor of John Redcorn on "King of the Hill," as well as a January fire that burned down Joss and husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales' home, which could be related.
The police chief also noted a high volume of calls between Joss and neighbors, amounting to nearly 70 calls to and from Joss' phone, "involving various neighborhood-type disturbances."
San Antonio police confirmed to USA TODAY that officers were dispatched to the location of a shooting in progress on June 1, and found Joss, 59, near a roadway upon arrival. The officers "attempted life saving measures" until EMS arrived and pronounced him dead.
A suspect, 56-year-old Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, was detained and booked for murder, police said.
In a post on Facebook, Joss' husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, said that the shooting occurred while they were checking the mail at the site of their former home. The home had previously burned down "after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire," de Gonzales alleged.
McManus acknowledged the anxiety members of San Antonio's LGBTQ+ community are feeling in the aftermath of Joss' death and police's immediate dismissal of the possibility that the murder was a hate crime, saying that they "shouldn't have done it."
McManus clarified that in the state of Texas, hate crimes are not filed as separate charges but can be used to increase sentencing, such as charges elevated from a second-degree to a first-degree felony.
In addition to his role on "King of the Hill," Joss also played Ken Hotate on the NBC sitcom "Parks and Recreation," starring opposite Amy Poehler.
Contributing: Brendan Morrow
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Jonathan Joss June 2 at 6:44 PM · Statement from Tristan Kern de Gonzales Husband of Jonathan Joss My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home. That home was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire. We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done. Throughout that time we were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic. When we returned to the site to check our mail we discovered the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view. This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw. While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired. Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life. Jonathan is my husband. He gave me more love in our time together than most people ever get. We were newlyweds. We picked Valentines Day. We were in the process of looking for a trailer and planning our future. He was murdered bySource: lemmy.world/c/news
reminds me of the houseless guy I met who had a pidgeon in his jacket