One week since the slaying of a Balcones Heights police officer outside a tattoo shop he owned in San Antonio, police have released no new information on their investigation.
However, law enforcement sources have revealed to KSAT 12 details that paint a picture of a man who appeared to have been living two lives -- one as an officer sworn to uphold the law; the other as a member of a gang well-known for violence.
On Monday, a spokesman for the City of Balcones Heights said, "It would be wrong for the city to speculate when there is an ongoing investigation."
The crime
On May 4, Julian Pesina was off duty after 10 p.m. outside Notorious Ink Tattoo and Piercing Shop in the 2800 block of Hillcrest Drive in San Antonio. San Antonio police said two masked gunmen were waiting for him.
A report released Monday by San Antonio police revealed that one witness was "inside his apartment and heard (redacted) gun shots. (The witness) said he came outside and saw BHPD at (the) location and went to assist."
The report has redacted the names of the three witnesses. However, three Balcones Heights officers initially responded to the call, even though it was outside their jurisdiction. Balcones Heights police Chief Henry Dominguez was among them. He said responding officers immediately recognized Pesina.
"Right away, we knew," said Dominguez. "Naturally, your first instinct was to save his life, so CPR was started. We did all we could, called EMS, and he was transported to the hospital."
Pesina was pronounced dead at University Hospital from an undisclosed number of gunshots.
The police report said Pesina had a revolver in his front right pocket and two sets of keys.
Suspected gang ties
Pesina was 29 years old.
Like most young people, he maintained a Facebook page. On it, there is no mention of his life as a police officer. There are no pictures showing Pesina in his police uniform, but the page is full of pictures of Pesina showing off his tattoos.
KSAT 12 asked an expert who has investigated prison and street gangs for 30 years to look at the pictures on Pesina's Facebook page. He said he was shocked at what he saw.
"He had several (tattoos) that any police officer would know represents the Mexican Mafia -- especially in the San Antonio area," said Gabe Morales.
Among them is a star with "M13" in it.
"The M is significant of the Mexican Mafia," Morales said. "The 13 is the 13th letter of the alphabet, which is M."
Also pictured as tattooed on Pesina is a two-headed serpent, also associated with the gang.
"You have to earn those kind of tattoos. So to put those on, you're basically claiming membership," Morales said.
Morales also identified hand gestures seen in more than one image of Pesina as a gang sign.
Morales said some of the tattoos on Pesina's body appeared to represent his family and his heritage.
"I don't know for fact that this guy was a Mexican Mafia member, but he sure has a lot of indicators," Morales said. "Just the fact that he put on those particular tattoos are significant -- they represent the gang world in a lot of ways."
Law enforcement sources who said they had seen Pesina's pictures said it showed his allegiance to the gang.
"This guy seems like he was living a double life," Morales said.
Concern about gangs infiltrating law enforcement agencies, military
Former FBI agent Brad Garrett said Pesina's alleged ties to the Mexican Mafia raise serious concerns for BHPD.
"It's a big problem because the questions would be are there other officers involved? What operations has he compromised? What sources has he compromised? So these things have tentacles," Garrett said. "The big concern, obviously, is who has he been talking to and do they also have some sort of affiliation with this particular gang or another one."
Garrett said gangs have successfully infiltrated law enforcement and the military to take advantage of the training and the information.
"What they tend to do is profile a person who does not have a criminal history," said Garrett. "As a result, when their background is checked out, they would appear to be okay, so this is an ongoing proactive behavior by the drug cartels."
Pesina had no criminal history.
Garrett said law enforcement agencies need thorough background checks for employees beyond the hiring stage.
"In the FBI for example and many federal agencies, you get reinvestigated every few years. That catches some people doing things, so maybe some departments or all of them should have some version of that," said Garrett.
Law enforcement response
Because San Antonio police have been tight-lipped about the slaying of a member of law enforcement, KSAT 12 spoke with law enforcement sources who confirmed Pesina's gang ties. None would go on the record to speak about them.
KSAT 12 also noticed this investigation strayed from the usual response law enforcement agencies have when one of their own is hurt or killed in several ways:
• No reward has been offered for information on the crime.
When a Beeville police officer who was in San Antonio in May 2006 was killed by robbers, the U.S. Marshal's Office posted a reward for information leading to information on his killers. A spokesman for the U.S. Marshal's Office said Monday no agency had contacted them to ask for their help in the case of Pesina's killing.
• No fund has been established by law enforcement to benefit the 4-year-old daughter Pesina left behind.
Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, or CLEAT, often offers support to family members of officers hurt or killed in the line of duty. A CLEAT spokesman said Monday the organization was not aware of Pesina.
• San Antonio police and Bexar County deputies have made no plainly visible show of support.
No San Antonio police officers were seen at the rosary or funeral for Pesina, nor has the department made any public remarks about the loss of Pesina. In September 2013, SAPD shared information about a fund set up to help injured officers in Selma. In December 2013, BCSO shared their condolences with SAPD after Officer Robert Deckard was killed in the line of duty.
Friends, family: Pesina a 'great guy'
Dozens attended a rosary Friday for Pesina. There, a woman who said Pesina patrolled their neighborhood, remembered the officer.
"He would counsel our son about staying out of trouble," said Roxanne Wahrheit.
"Julian was a great guy," said his sister-in-law, Angelica Castro. "He was always there for anybody. You just had to call him and he was there."
"Whoever did this, they just didn't take Julian," said friend Jeffrey Zepeda. "They took many people away from a friend, a cousin, a father, son -- so they just didn't hurt one, they hurt a lot."
A high school teacher of Pesina's said he was an awesome person.
"Julian was one of those students that, he had his rough spots, but he turned himself around. He was a good person at heart," said Christine Sollers.