SAN ANTONIO – A man accused of orchestrating a drive-by shooting that led to the death of a 2-year-old last month is in custody on a capital murder charge, according to San Antonio police.
Anthony Arizmendez was arrested Friday and was taken to the Bexar County Jail.
The arrest comes a day after Derrain Turner, 17, was arrested for capital murder.
Police identified Turner as the shooter who fired multiple rounds, killing Mackenzie Hernandez Garcia.
As officers escorted Arizmendez to an SAPD patrol car, he apologized on behalf of the other suspect involved.
“I don’t understand why I’m involved,” Arizmendez said of his role in the shooting. “I’m sorry for everything that they did.”
Arizmendez claimed he was innocent as he was placed in the car.
Police said Arizmendez was responsible for organizing and planning the shooting and offering payment to Turner.
Officers did not disclose the amount which Turner was paid.
SAPD said the drive-by shooting stemmed from an assault that took place prior.
Arizmendez was involved with the assault, however, he was not the attacker, police said.
What happened in the drive-by shooting
Police were called to a home in the 100 block of Future Drive on the North Side for a shooting around 1:30 p.m. on May 8.
Officers arrived to find the child had been standing close to the front door and was hit twice by bullets, killing her, according to SAPD.
Police Chief William McManus previously said five other children, between 2 and 6 years old, were inside the home. None of them were hurt.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the intended target was the son of the homeowner, who recently broke up with his girlfriend. His name has not been released.
Police said Arizmendez was related to girlfriend.
Arizmendez was not mentioned by name in Turner’s arrest warrant affidavit, but it did reference Arizmendez’s arrest on an unrelated warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Police said they believe Arizmendez asked Turner and a juvenile suspect to “do a drive-by shooting... in retaliation for a disturbance” between his family member and her ex-boyfriend, the affidavit states.
The ex-boyfriend told police that Arizmendez had previously made threats against him.
According to the affidavit, on May 10, during Arizmendez’s arrest on unrelated charges, he asked to speak with police about the drive-by shooting on Future Drive.
He told officers during the interview at police headquarters that Turner and the juvenile suspect were the people involved in the deadly shooting on May 8 but denied that he was involved.
Arizmendez said Turner and the other suspect arrived at his home in a black Chevrolet Silverado and asked if he wanted to buy the vehicle. Police later determined the truck to be the same one used in the drive-by shooting, which was also reported stolen the day the shooting occurred.
Arizmendez told police he declined to purchase the truck but noted that Turner showed him a .40 caliber Glock handgun while he was at the location. Shell casings at the scene of the drive-by shooting were also .40 caliber casings.
According to the affidavit, Arizmendez also told police Turner and the suspect left his residence and returned a short time later, saying the truck was “smoking.” Turner said he let the juvenile suspect drive the truck, and that’s when Arizmendez said he told the two to leave.
The day before his arrest on May 9, Arizmendez told police the juvenile suspect returned to his home and started talking about the drive-by shooting. Arizmendez asked what happened and the juvenile told him that Turner shot at the residence on Future Drive, the affidavit states.
Arizmendez told police he then asked the juvenile suspect to leave.
On May 15, police spoke to the juvenile suspect at Public Safety Headquarters with a relative present.
During the interview, the juvenile told police Turner drove to his house in the stolen truck on the day of the shooting and that the two then drove to Arizmendez’s home. He also admitted to going with Turner to the residence on Future Drive and told police that he was driving the truck while Turner fired multiple rounds at the home from the passenger seat.
The juvenile suspect told police that Arizmendez instructed him and Turner to go “shoot up the house.”
A search warrant from the juvenile suspect’s phone revealed a screenshot photo of a mapped route from Arizmendez’s home to the residence on Future Drive. The photo shows directions from “my location” to the home on Future Drive, and further reveals that the screenshot was taken three days prior to the shooting.
Officers with SAPD wrote in the affidavit that based on the information obtained in the investigation, they believe Arizmendez asked Turner and the juvenile suspect to do the drive-by shooting in retaliation for the disturbance between his relative and her ex-boyfriend.
The driver in the case has not been arrested, and police are still investigating. It’s unclear what charges the driver would face.
KSAT will update you when more information becomes available.