SAN ANTONIO – Days before three men were found fatally shot, one of them had a fight with the man accused of killing them, according to witnesses who testified in court on Wednesday.
Pedro Garcia, 21, Matthew Travis Martinez, 22, and Anthony Rodrigues, 24, were found dead, each with several gunshot wounds on Sept. 27, 2016, at La Paloma Apartments at 102 W. Rampart Drive.
According to a murder warrant, Jacob Brownson is accused of killing the three men while his wife and three young children waited in a van outside.
Days leading up to the deadly shooting, the men had a party to celebrate Garcia’s birthday.
Garcia and Brownson were childhood friends. Brownson attended the party along with his wife and kids.
Rodrigues’ girlfriend and her friend took the stand on Wednesday to testify that at some point during the party Brownson and Rodrigues got into a fight.
Rodrigues was left with a cut on his head as a result.
Brownson eventually left the apartment to get his kids some food but never returned.
The two women said they left the next morning and never returned to the apartment.
According to the murder warrant, Brownson did go back to the apartment on the morning of Sept. 27 to get his kids and wife and that’s when he is alleged to have fatally shot the men.
Firearms expert Edward Wallace also took the stand on Wednesday. He spoke about how he examined all the casings collected in the case and determined they were all fired from the same semi-automatic 9mm pistol.
Despite that determination, Wallace said he could not say who actually fired the weapon.
Testimony in this case will resume Thursday morning in the 175th District Court.
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