SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE: The Bexar County Sheriff's Office said the suspect, Josue Hugo Castillo, 38, has been charged with burglary of a vehicle and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
(Previously)
A burglary suspect who was shot by a homeowner in far West Bexar County may have been up to no good even before that, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Johnny Garcia, a public information officer for BCSO, said for starters, investigators located a car the suspect was driving and found out it was stolen.
“That suspect was found to be in possession of articles related to burglary of a vehicle,” he said.
Those items, Garcia said, likely came from other cars in the area.
He expected that time would reveal that other neighbors also had been victimized overnight.
The apparent crime spree came to a violent end shortly after 3 a.m. Thursday at a home in the 1000 block of Sundance Fort.
Garcia said a homeowner told investigators that he shot the suspect after waking up to a noise outside his home.
“When he came outside, he discovered that an individual was rummaging through his vehicle,” he said. “The homeowner at that point in time, went back inside, retrieved his weapon."
The homeowner said he fired two shots after the suspect made a threatening move.
The 38-year-old man was hit in the back of his head behind his ear, Garcia said.
He was stable when he was rushed to a hospital.
Down the street, Robert Garza Jr. was stunned at how close he had come to an encounter with the same man.
"I saw the guy. He walked right here. He didn't see me,” Garza said.
Just beginning his holiday vacation, Garza had been enjoying a few beers on his own front porch when he saw the suspicious-looking man walk by.
Shortly after he went inside to bed, Garza said the shooting scene unfolded.
"About another 30 minutes passed. My wife got up to go to the restroom and she heard the sirens,” he said.
Garza said he had noticed some unusual incidents at his own home Wednesday morning.
He returned from an all-night work shift to find his garage door jammed and one of his inflatable Christmas decorations flattened.
He wonders now whether the same suspect had been at his home the prior day.
At this time, the man who was shot and wounded faces charges of burglary of a vehicle and theft of a vehicle.