SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales and San Antonio Police Chief William McManus are it once again -- putting the blame on the other’s agency following another police shooting involving a wanted suspect.
Gonzales on Wednesday defended his office’s work following remarks by McManus at the scene of a shooting Tuesday afternoon on the Southwest Side.
“This individual is another case of someone who should have been in jail,” McManus said at the scene Tuesday. “He’s a repeat violent offender with a history of family violence dismissals, (and) no jail time. There was a motion to revoke his probation on the 3rd of August, but he’s still out.”
The suspect has been identified as Dominick Rubio, 29. He is charged with attempted capital murder of a police officer, violation of bond and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bonds total more than $1 million, jail records show.
Preliminary information from police states that Rubio was wanted on two felony warrants when an officer spotted him in the 200 block of Iroquois Street.
The officer approached Rubio, who brandished a shotgun and shot the officer in the arm and torso, according to police.
The officer, who has not been named, was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
Tuesday’s shooting is the fifth involving San Antonio police officers in the past two weeks. In those incidents, five officers were wounded by suspects, and three suspects were shot.
McManus expressed frustration with previous comments from District Attorney Joe Gonzales.
“I’m not going to let SAPD accept the blame for all these cases being dismissed,” he said. “I’m not going to do it.”
You can watch the press conference with Chief McManus in the video player below:
Gonzales issued the following statement in response, saying it was SAPD’s job to search for the suspect:
“At the request of my office, a motion to revoke was filed and a warrant was issued for the arrest of Dominick Rubio on August 3, 2023. On August 31, 2023, SAPD was called to a possible crime scene. As a result of the SAPD investigation at the site, SAPD obtained a second warrant for Rubio. However, the original arrest warrant was still outstanding and had not been served.
“Entirely by chance, Dominick Rubio was spotted on September 5, 2023, by an SAPD officer who had previous experience with him and who knew he was wanted. During the ensuing effort to arrest Rubio, an SAPD officer was shot.
“The execution of warrants, the arrest of offenders, and responsibility to return defendants to jail pursuant to a court’s order – these are law enforcement functions. Previously, the SAPD had a dedicated Repeat Offender Program (ROP). The ROP Unit was a specialized unit made up of detectives trained to track down wanted people – particularly repeat offenders. Arresting repeat offenders was their focus.
“The SAPD disbanded the ROP Unit as part of a reorganization by Chief McManus in 2022. The responsibilities of the ROP were assigned to the SAPD’s Covert Response Unit – which is already overburdened with narcotics investigations, gambling investigations, undercover operations, and bar inspections. The Covert Response Unit is also responsible for investigating retail theft, business theft, prostitution, digital/child exploitation crimes, sexually oriented business inspections, and enforcement of tobacco and e-cigarette sales. See https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SAPD/About/Divisions/Covert-Response-Unit
“Over 30 days had passed since the original warrant seeking Dominick Rubio’s arrest and detention had been issued. Nearly a week had gone by since SAPD had issued a second warrant for Rubio. Rubio should have been in jail long before yesterday’s shooting – and it was the SAPD’s job to search for him, serve the warrant, and get him there.”
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