SAN ANTONIO – A suspect has been arrested in the shooting death of a man that occurred last fall after an investigation contrasted with initial reports.
Records with the Bexar County Jail show Rudy Aragon, 20, was booked Monday and charged with manslaughter in the slaying of Ruben Roberto Salazar, 44.
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Salazar was gunned down on Nov. 22 outside his South Side home in the 500 block of Antoinette Drive, not far from East Southcross and South New Braunfels Avenue. He was transported in critical condition to Brooke Army Medical Center but later died.
San Antonio police initially believed the man was injured in a shooting with several other assailants, but investigators later discovered the bullet that killed Salazar was fired from inside the home.
The incident began when three girls went to the home “attempting to fight” with Salazar’s daughter, police said. His wife intervened and the girls left, saying they would return to “shoot up” the home.
Moments later, two cars parked a block away as Salazar was sitting inside his vehicle with a rifle, according to police. He then exited his car and the other two vehicles approached the home, stopping about a half-block away from Salazar.
Several people in the two vehicles shot at Salazar’s home before fleeing, police said.
According to investigators, surveillance footage from the home showed that the shots fired from the assailants appeared to have missed Salazar.
Instead, police said the video showed gunfire coming out of Salazar’s home as he retreated.
The footage also showed Aragon walking out of the home with a Glock 26 GEN 4 9 mm handgun in his hand, police said.
Footage from another residence showed that a fence blocked Salazar and the gunmen in the vehicles, meaning bullets would have had to penetrate the fence.
A police officer who returned to the scene said the fence did not have damage from the gunfire.
A criminal complaint states Aragon was initially interviewed after the crime but was released because officers did not know shots were fired from inside the home.
The document adds that Salazar’s wife first denied police from entering the home and locked the front door. After she gave consent, police searched the home and found the Glock 26 GEN 4 9 mm handgun inside.
Police also found the rifle that Salazar had at the time of the shooting in a back bedroom, the complaint states.
The document does not detail the relationship between Aragon and Salazar.
Records show Aragon’s bond was set at $75,000.
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