SAN ANTONIO – After a grisly week at a downtown public housing complex, security concerns are expected to take center stage during public comments at the housing authority’s Wednesday afternoon board meeting.
Nick Martinez, 59, was found killed Oct. 1 at Victoria Plaza, in the 400 block of Barrera Street, a few blocks south of Hemisfair. Fellow ninth-floor resident Donnell Sterling, 52, was found shot and killed in his apartment on Oct. 4.
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Sterling may have been killed several days before he was found. A neighbor had last seen him on Sept. 29, according to court documents, and his family hadn’t heard from him after then. Residents also told KSAT they had noticed a bad smell before their neighbor was found.
Daniel Gonzalez, 35, was arrested in connection with Sterling’s death this week. When police had questioned him in connection to Martinez’s slaying on Oct. 3, they found a handgun on him, which they said likely matched a 9mm casing that was later found by Sterling’s body.
Gonzalez was also seen on camera leaving an elevator and heading down toward the hallway leading to Sterling’s apartment on the night of Sept. 29 and Sept. 30.
Though SAPD said Gonzalez is the suspect in Martinez’s slaying, too, that case is ongoing. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office said Martinez died of sharp force injury.
The property caters to elderly and disabled residents and is managed by Opportunity Home San Antonio, formerly known as the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA).
After Sterling’s body was discovered on Oct. 4, residents told KSAT they were worried about their safety.
“It’s supposed to be opportunity,” said Bonita Alvarado, a resident. “They’re supposed to give us an opportunity here with a home, with safety. And clearly, you know, we’re waking up to dead bodies and, you know, we’re just thinking smells. It’s just very chaotic. And, you know, most of us…fear for our life.”
The San Antonio Tenants Union announced in a Wednesday morning news release that its representatives plan to speak at Opportunity Home’s 1 p.m. board meeting and “urgently address the escalating safety concerns within their properties.” A contact for the group told KSAT they are also trying to collect residents to speak as well.
“Federal regulations stipulate that local housing authorities must provide their tenants with a sanitary and safe living environment,” SATU leader Pancho Valdez said in the news release. “Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own home.”
Security issues at Victoria Plaza or Opportunity Homes properties in general are not on the board’s public agenda, but security is one of the issues the board is allowed to discuss in its closed-door executive sessions.
An Opportunity Home spokesman told KSAT last week that Victoria Plaza had cameras, enhanced lighting, and key fobs for entry. Guards are not typically stationed on site, but there are security patrols at the complex.
A spokesman said on Oct. 4 the housing authority was looking at increasing security.