San Marcos police shot and killed a suspect who was allegedly following people with two large knives Thursday night, according to the department.

A public funeral service for Justin Putnam, a San Marcos police officer killed in the line of duty last spring, will be held on Thursday morning.

SAN MARCOS, Texas – San Marcos police arrested a 59-year-old man connected with the murder of a 33-year-old man at a local hotel. Officers were called to the Econo Lodge Hotel and found a man dead inside one of the rooms on Tuesday night. An investigation led officers to the suspect, Melvin George Nicholas Jr., and an arrest warrant was issued for his arrest, police said. An autopsy report from the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office is pending in the case. Police say this is the first homicide in San Marcos in 2021.

SAN MARCOS – The San Marcos police department is requesting the public’s help in identifying and locating two armed men involved in an assault and robbery of an apartment resident. Police say the two men assaulted and robbed a resident as he was getting into his vehicle on Nov. 20 at the Grove apartment complex, 1150 E. River Ridge Parkway. The men then forced the resident into their vehicle and demanded that he tell them his apartment number. According to police, one of the men stole the man’s keys and entered the unit and stole various items from the apartment. The men then ordered the victim out of the vehicle and stole it.

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The City of San Marcos has narrowed its search for its next chief of police to two candidates: Robert Brown, current chief of police for the city of Duncanville and Stan Standridge, current chief of police in Abilene. Bios of both Brown and Standridge provided by the city of San Marcos can be read in full below:Robert Brown, image courtesy of The City of San Marcos. Brown is a graduate of the 38th Management College from the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration (ILEA) in Plano, Texas. Chief Stan Standridge:Stan Standridge, image courtesy of The City of San Marcos. He graduated from LEMIT’s Leadership Command College in 2009 and the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development (LEADS) program in 2018.

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Lee esto en español. The San Marcos Police Department is asking for the community’s input on its current use of force policy. The new citizen’s advisory committee will be made up of residents from San Marcos who will be tasked with providing feedback to SMPD. “This ad-hoc committee is just a more formalized way of doing that, looking at our use of force policies and providing some feedback,” Klett said. San Marcos City Council will choose the members in early October.

SAN ANTONIO – A 20-year-old man has been arrested months after the fatal shooting of a woman at a San Marcos apartment complex, according to police. Steven Deshawn Crawford turned himself into the Hays County Jail on Wednesday, San Marcos police said. Police had been searching for him since Ivoryana Chante Ballard, 21, was found fatally shot on May 30 at the Redpoint Apartments at 650 River Road. A warrant for Crawford’s arrest was issued by the following day. It remains unclear what led to the shooting.

Giving back to those that risk their lives that was the goal behind the San Marcos Police Associations fundraiser to raise money for a fallen officer and two others wounded in the line of duty. Back in April, the three officers were responding to a family violence call, where officer Jason Putnam was shot and killed. Officers Justin Mueller and Franco Stewart were critically wounded. RELATED: San Marcos police identify officers, suspect involved in fatal shootingOn Sunday, the organization sold barbecue plates, t-shirts, and bracelets to raise money. MORE: San Marcos community salutes slain officer as procession passes through town