SAN ANTONIO – A man charged in connection with the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Charles Roundtree Jr. was found not guilty Thursday.
A Bexar County jury found Davante Snowden not guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Prosecutors accused Snowden of reaching for his gun on Oct. 17, 2018, when San Antonio police officer Steve Casanova entered a Northwest Side home while investigating an assault call.
Upon seeing Snowden allegedly reach for the weapon, Casanova opened fire, hitting Snowden in the back and killing Roundtree. A grand jury opted not to indict Casanova for the shooting last week.
Snowden's attorneys argued that he never had a weapon, and that witnesses in the home backed him up on the claim.
A 9mm handgun was found outside of a bedroom window of the home, while a matching magazine was found inside the bedroom.
Snowden's parents were pleased with the acquittal.
"He never should have been here in the first place, he never should have been charged with anything like that," said Keith Jefferson, Snowden's father.
Snowden's mother, Gidjetta Jefferson, echoed the same sentiment.
"I know my son didn't do it. I knew for a fact," she said. "They wasted taxpayer money on something as nonsense as this trial."
Body camera footage of the incident was played in the trial and likely played an important role in the jury's decision.