SAN ANTONIO – A teenager was arrested for fatally shooting a 15-year-old boy in what appeared to be an act of revenge for a drug robbery, according to San Antonio police.
Victor Nathaneal Rivas, 17, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with murder, booking records with the Bexar County Jail show.
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Rivas is accused of shooting Ethan Soto at around 3 p.m. on May 16 after he was lured from his home in the 2100 block of Alston Drive, near Callaghan Road on the Northwest Side.
An arrest warrant affidavit states that tension between the teenagers started hours before the deadly shooting.
Investigators said Soto robbed Rivas of THC cartridges on May 15, and Rivas shot at Soto and his family’s home. Soto was not injured in this incident.
Soto’s mother attempted to resolve the situation by paying Rivas for the stolen cartridges, the affidavit states. Soto’s mother then met with Rivas to give him the money.
Hours later, Rivas messaged an underage girl on Instagram and asked her to set up a drug deal with Soto, police said.
Soto “stated several times that he was looking for the person who robbed him and was going to ‘catch’ him when he saw him,” the affidavit states.
The girl messaged Soto on Instagram, acted as if she wanted to buy THC cartridges from him, and arranged to meet with him near his home.
At 2:55 p.m. on May 16, the girl told Soto that she was nearby, causing him to leave his home to meet her.
The girl, however, was not at the location and Soto was instead ambushed by Rivas, police said.
Soto was shot multiple times and died at the hospital.
A witness told police that he saw a man running from the scene and driving off in a golden sedan, possibly a Jaguar, with a red hood.
The affidavit states that Soto’s mother confronted Rivas after the shooting, but Rivas denied involvement.
Rivas did say that he “wished” he shot Soto but would not kill him over $60, the affidavit states.
Police searched Rivas’ phone and Instagram records and discovered that he worked with the juvenile girl to lure Soto away from his home.
Rivas “knew he could not message the victim himself as he had previously been robbed by the victim and shot at the victim,” the affidavit states.
The affidavit adds that after the shooting, Rivas reported that his car was stolen. His car — a gold Jaguar with a red hood — was later found at an IHOP on the West Side.
Phone records revealed that the car wasn’t stolen, but Rivas ditched it there an hour after the shooting. He also asked a friend for help finding a new car, police said.
Cellphone data also pinged Rivas to the area of the shooting at 2:52 p.m. and in the area of the IHOP thereafter.
A warrant for his arrest was signed on Wednesday. His bond is set at $200,000, records show.
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