San Antonio police were 'premature' in saying Jonathan Joss's murder wasn't a hate crime, police chief says
Police Chief William McManus rescinded the department's previous statement at a press conference Thursday while also apologizing to the LGBTQ+ community for dismissing their concerns.
"We issued a statement the day after Jonathan Joss's murder that was way, way, way premature. Shouldn't have done it," he said. "It was way too soon before we had any real information, and I will own that and simply say we shouldn't have done that. It was way too early in the process for any statement of that nature to be issued."
"We understand that many in the LBGTQ+ [sic] community are feeling anxious and concerned," McManus continued. "A lot of that has to do with that premature statement that we released, and again, I own that. We shouldn't have done it. The loss of Jonathan Joss was tragic and most heavily felt by the LBGTQ+ [sic] community."
Joss, 59, was an out Indigenous actor known for his roles in comedies such as King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation. He had married his partner, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, just a few months ago on Valentine's Day. The couple had been living in Joss's childhood home for at least two years before it burned down in January.
Kern de Gonzales revealed in a Facebook post that he and Joss were "involved in a shooting" when they returned to the site of their former home to check the mail. He claimed that the fire and the shooting occurred "after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire" and that despite reporting the threats to law enforcement multiple times, "nothing was done."
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Jonathan Joss
"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," Kern de Gonzales wrote. "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."
Kern de Gonzales asserted in his Facebook post that throughout their time living at Joss's family home as a couple, they "were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic." He later claimed in an interview with NBC that the accused killer, Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, called him and his husband "jotos," a Spanish slur for gay people, before shooting Joss.
"He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other," he said in his post.
The San Antonio Police Department released a statement shortly after Joss's death claiming that it had uncovered "no evidence" to suggest that the killing was a hate crime, which Kern de Gonzales' statement contested.
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"SAPD Homicide is currently investigating the murder of Mr. Jonathan Joss," the department wrote. "Despite online claims of this being a hate crime, currently the investigation has found no evidence to indicate that the Mr. Joss's murder was related to his sexual orientation."
After retracting their previous statement at the Thursday press conference, McManus clarified that the police department doesn't charge hate crimes in Texas. Instead, they "gather the facts and we give those facts to the district attorney's office, then that hate-crime designation is determined at sentencing."
"There's also concern about the circumstances surrounding that death and the history in the neighborhood leading up to that," McManus said. "One of the most common questions that we've received is why this case isn't being charged as a hate crime at this point. ... In Texas, hate crimes are not separate charges. Instead, they are addressed through sentencing enhancements."
"Our homicide detectives are continuing to pursue every lead in the case to ensure that we understand the full picture of what led up to the senseless murder of Mr. Joss," he added. "We're committed to delivering a thorough and complete investigation."
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