SAN ANTONIO – The punishment phase began on Monday for a man who shot at San Antonio police officers back in 2022.
Celedino Saldaña faces up to life in prison. He was found guilty by a jury last week.
Saldaña was on trial on a charge of attempted capital murder of a police officer and aggravated assault of a peace officer.
According to trial testimony, Saldaña was a potential suspect in a separate shooting incident in August 2022, when San Antonio police officers tried to pull him over, but he refused to stop.
After a brief chase, Saldaña was shot by police 20 times as officers fired close to 100 rounds, according to trial testimony. Saldaña was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Before the jury began deliberations, they heard Saldana’s version of what happened during the firefight.
“I did not point ... to hurt them. Just scare them enough to have the chance to run away,” Saldaña testified on the witness stand.
In testimony on Monday, several members of Saldana’s family said he was a changed man and had remorse for his actions.
SAPD Officer Jose Claire who narrowly missed getting shot by Saldana told the jury Monday that suffered from PTSD after the incident and wished the incident never happened.