“It’s not right that they’ll be able to just have a second chance like that,” Simon Cuevas’ mother said. “My son doesn’t get a second chance to come home.”
SAN ANTONIO — An 18-year-old wanted for capital murder in the killing of 14-year-old Simon Cuevas is now in custody, according to law enforcement and Cuevas’ family.
Andrew Cantu, 18, turned himself in to authorities early Sunday morning after nearly three weeks on the run. San Antonio police had released a photo of Cantu in mid-September, identifying him as a suspect in the April 16 fatal attack on Cuevas.
Cuevas’s mother, Alejandra Cuevas, confirmed the arrest in an interview with KENS 5 on Sunday evening.
“It’s a mix of emotions with the way things have been going,” she said. “I just want justice for my son.”
Police say Simon Cuevas was walking home from school when he was attacked by a group of five individuals — one adult and four teenagers. Authorities believe 18-year-old Fernando Flores was the shooter; he was arrested in August and remains charged with capital murder.
Days after Flores’s arrest, two teenage brothers, ages 14 and 16, were also charged with capital murder. However, last month, their charges were reduced to assault causing bodily injury — a decision Alejandra Cuevas called “upsetting.”
Another suspect, 20-year-old Cesar Tijerina, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after fleeing to Laredo. He later died in a San Antonio hospital.
“I know that nothing will ever bring my son back. It’s just hard for me,” Cuevas said.
With Cantu now in custody, she’s urging Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales to seek the maximum punishment for all those involved.
“How would you feel if it was your son?” she said. “It’s not right that the people that are the reason why my son is not here no more… that they just get a second chance like that. My son doesn’t get a second chance to come home.”
As of Sunday night, Cantu remained in the Bexar County Jail awaiting his first appearance before a judge.