San Antonio – A 16-year-old wanted in connection with a Southeast Side murder from over the summer was arrested last week after he was found in an apartment that a SWAT team was raiding in connection with a separate murder investigation.
Court documents and a police report show the teen, whom KSAT is not naming due to his age and status as a juvenile, is at least the second suspect arrested in connection with the murder of Michael Molina, 61.
Molina was shot multiple times Aug. 30 at a house in the 3300 block of Bob Billa during what appears to have been a targeted attack on his grandson.
Molina died from his injuries on Sep. 8.
Another suspect in the murder, Tristan Avery Lerma, 18, was arrested Dec. 1.
The 16-year-old was arrested Dec. 8 at an apartment complex in the 12300 block of SW Loop 410. He was the only person inside an apartment that Converse Police, Texas Rangers, and Alamo Area SWAT personnel were searching in connection with the Dec. 6 murder of Khadija Derry, 22, in Converse.
CONFIRMING THE LINK
According to an arrest affidavit related to that search, the teen had “six active warrants including one for murder out of the San Antonio Police Department.” Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested the teen and brought him to the Bexar County jail for booking.
The affidavit did not state for whose murder the teen was being arrested. However, KSAT used the name and birthday included in the affidavit to request a police report from SAPD, which provided a partially redacted report of the Aug. 30 shooting of Molina that listed the teen’s name as a suspect.
KSAT also asked BCSO about the details of the charges. A spokesperson on Thursday afternoon confirmed deputies had arrested a 16-year-old boy in that area while assisting Converse Police in an investigation. She did not confirm the juvenile suspect’s name, but she said his arrest was not related to the Converse investigation
Despite the “six active warrants” mentioned in the Converse affidavit, BCSO listed only four outstanding warrants: murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon- 2nd offense, deadly conduct- firearm, and cruelty to livestock.
KSAT was able to confirm through a source that those charges were all from the day of Molina’s shooting.
MOLINA MURDER
According to the details laid out in the police report and Lerma’s arrest affidavit, there may have been three suspects in Molina’s shooting. However, it was not immediately clear who the third person is or if they had been arrested.
Molina’s grandson had been sitting alone outside the house in the 3300 block of Bob Billa on the evening of Aug. 30 when he noticed a vehicle stop. People got out of the car and started shooting at him while he took cover behind the vehicles in the driveway
Security video from a nearby home showed two people getting out of the car, though the police report’s author says it’s unclear in the video what they’re doing.
A neighbor who was in his driveway across the street returned fire at the shooters, one of whom shot back. The suspects then got back in their car and took off.
A few minutes later, the 16-year-old suspect was dropped off at a nearby urgent care facility with a gunshot wound to his right shoulder.
Molina’s grandson told investigators he believed he was the target of the shooting, due to a 2021 homicide investigation in which he had been involved.
Investigators later found evidence on Lerma’s Instagram account that suggests the grandson ’s suspicion about being the target was correct. According to conversations from shortly after the shooting, which investigators included in the affidavit for Lerma’s arrest warrant, Lerma appeared to talk about “hop out on” and “spin on” Molina’s grandson.
Molina had been inside the house when the shooting started and was hit multiple times. A dog was also shot and killed.
There were several other people inside the house, including Molina’s wife and children, but they were unscathed.
Outside, police found three different calibers of spent casings for rifles and handguns.
Security video from the neighborhood and the urgent care facility where the juvenile suspect was brought both showed the same car, which investigators later determined to be a green 2017 Subaru Outback.
A stolen vehicle matching the description was recovered on the West Side a few days later, with apparent blood evidence inside.