Jose Teran Jr. allegedly said he purchases babies for their organs, according to arrest warrant.
SAN ANTONIO — A series of text messages left a San Antonio family fearing for their lives.
According to an arrest affidavit, Jose Teran Jr. offered half a million dollars to purchase the family’s baby.
The strange twist of events happened in late December, when police said the child’s mother sent a group text to family members, inviting them to her daughter’s upcoming baptism.
Moments after the text was sent, the mother received a chilling response from a number she didn’t recognize, asking how much money she wanted for her baby.
According to the arrest warrant, Teran responded to the invitation saying: “That’s a nice Caucasian baby, how much do you want?”
Police said the mother immediately blocked the number after responding to Teran, telling him he had the wrong number
But according to the arrest warrant, family members still on the group text thread reported Teran sent follow-up texts asking about buying the baby.
“Are you not interested in selling? I’m willing to start the bid at 500k,” he said, according to an arrest warrant.
The father of the child then called the number, investigators said, and spoke to Teran. He allegedly said he was interested in “purchasing their child and would be willing to pay for their child in cash or bitcoin,” according to the arrest warrant.
Teran went on to say that he purchases babies for their organs.
Investigators said the family feared for their lives and the safety of their children. They purchased a security system, and constantly checked their street for unknown vehicles.
Detectives said they traced the number back to Teran. Once they did, they realized he was already behind bars, booked on an unrelated charge.
That charge stemmed from a road rage shooting that happened Monday along Interstate 35, when investigators say the driver of an SUV shot the driver of a big rig. That alleged shooter was identified by SAPD as Teran.
When detectives interviewed Teran about the bizarre text messages, he admitted to sending the texts, telling detectives “he believed the message thread was spam,” according to police documents.
Teran is now in jail facing two charges: the purchase/sale of human organs and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.