Chief McManus retracts statement on actor Jonathan Joss’s murder motives.
SAN ANTONIO — SAPD Chief William McManus walked back a statement made by the department the day after “King of the Hill” actor Jonathan Joss’s murder.
The 59-year-old actor whose legal name is Jonathan Joss Gonzales was shot to death outside his family’s home on Dorsey Street. His neighbor, Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 59, is facing a murder charge in his death. Other neighbors in the area had known the two to be in a longstanding fued stretching back over a year. Witnesses said they often faced off with weapons and gunshots were heard from both men’s houses in the evenings.
Monday, SAPD issued a statement saying the murder was related to Joss’ sexual orientation and was not being classified as a hate crime. In a press conference Thursday, he walked back those statements, saying they were premature.
“We issued a statement the day after Jonathan Joss’s murder that was way way way premature,” Chief McManus said. “We shouldn’t have done it. It was way too soon before we had any real information and I will own that.”
Chief McManus said in the state of Texas, a hate crime is not a separate charge, but is something handled through sentencing by the prosecutors.
“They are addressed through sentencing enhancements. So, for example, if someone’s arrested for a class B misdemeanor and a hate crime designation attaches yo that charge, then that Class B misdemeanor is elevated to a class A misdemeanor,” Chief McManus said.
The chief said the department is still investigating all the facts of the case and will be forwarding all of it to the District Attorney’s office.
San Antonio police released reports going back more than one year that add context to the events that led to the fatal confrontation in the driveway of the actor’s south-side home site. There are two and a half pages of police calls, which date back to January of last year, involving the house of the actor and the man accused of murder.
“There are approximately 70 calls over the past two years involving various neighborhood type disturbances,” Chief McManus said. “Sometimes he was the caller. Other times the neighbors were calling on him. Our safe unit, our mental health unit had extensive engagements with Mr. Joss, making repeated efforts to mediate conflicts.”
The chief reassured the LGBTQIA+ community that SAPD is committed to ensuring safety, especially given that is Pride Month in June. He invited the community to a forum to address concerns and fears the LGBTQ+ community may have.
The forum is set to take place 6 p.m. Thursday night at Woodlawn Pointe Main Auditorium located at 702 Donaldson.
Watch the chief’s full remarks here: