On 26 Aug 2023, Lou Bricano <lb@cap.con> posted some
news:Y4pGM.174241$JG_b.33855@fx39.iad:

> Why didn't they kill the SOB?

San Antonio, Texas' top police official turned to social media on Friday
and questioned how a repeat offender with a long rap sheet could walk
freely and shoot two officers.

At about 5 p.m. Thursday, two San Antonio Police Department officers
responded to the area of a wanted suspect who left his apartment complex
with a long gun before getting into a vehicle being driven by an
unidentified person.

San Antonio Police Department Chief Bill McManus said the suspect, later
identified as Jesse Garcia, saw police behind them and started shooting,
hitting one of the officers.

SUSPECT SHOOTS, WOUNDS 2 TEXAS POLICE OFFICERS DURING PURSUIT

The duo then carjacked a different vehicle and fled to another apartment
complex before shooting and wounding a second officer multiple times, the
chief added.

Garcia barricaded himself in the apartment complex and was eventually
taken into custody.

"One of the concerning aspects surrounding the shooting of our [officers]
last night�the [suspect] was out on 2 bonds for almost a [year], despite
committing more crimes & being re-arrested & wanted on 3 [different]
warrants," McManus posted to X the next morning. "Why wasn�t he in jail?
Why weren�t his bonds increased? People want to know."

TEXAS MAN SENTENCED TO 60 YEARS IN PRISON FOR STABBING HIS GIRLFRIEND AT
LEAST 27 TIMES, KILLING HER

FOX 29 in San Antonio reported that McManus said he was not pointing
fingers at anyone, but just asking "Why?"

The chief told the station that there are three active warrants out for
Garcia, calling him a "dangerous, dangerous man."

"The officers were following this individual from 60 yards back and he
opened up on them with an AR � and shot one of our officers in the eye,"
McManus reportedly said.

Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales�s office did not immediately
respond to questions on the matter from Fox News Digital on Saturday.

FOX 29 spoke with the first assistant of the DA�s office, Christian
Henricksen, who said the DA�s office can recommend a bond amount to the
judge, but the judge ultimately sets the bond amount based on factors like
the severity of the crime and criminal history.

Garcia�s previous charges go back to 2019 and include firearm possession
and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

This year, he had two charges, and the warrants for his arrest were for
burglary of vehicles and evading arrest.

Garcia went to prison in 2019 for felony possession of a firearm, and last
year was arrested on drug possession and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

He bonded out of jail and has not yet been indicted on those charges.

The alleged shooter was also arrested in February of this year for
burglarizing vehicles and posted bond. He was arrested again in June for
felony possession of a firearm and evading arrest, before posting bond
once again.Garcia went to prison in 2019 for felony possession of a
firearm, and last year was arrested on drug possession and unauthorized
use of a vehicle.

He bonded out of jail and has not yet been indicted on those charges.

The alleged shooter was also arrested in February of this year for
burglarizing vehicles and posted bond. He was arrested again in June for
felony possession of a firearm and evading arrest, before posting bond
once again.

When asked by the station why the DA�s office did not recommend holding
Garcia without bail, Henricksen said it is generally not something judges
can do, adding that there are "very limited circumstances" that allow a
judge to hold a suspect without bail.

Those circumstances include things like capital murder and domestic
violence.

"There�s nothing that we could have done that would have changed the
situation," Henricksen told the station. "Ultimately the judges set the
bond, not us."

Henricksen said the DA�s office could have possibly moved a little bit
more quickly, which would have gotten the warrant out a couple of weeks
earlier.

According to court records, Garcia is being held on $1 million bond for
each aggravated assaults against the police officers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

https://news.yahoo.com/san-antonio-police-chief-furious-205820855.html