The 2024 incident prompted return fire from service members at the San Antonio military installation.
SAN ANTONIO — A young man arrested after firing a stolen gun in the area of Lackland Air Force Base multiple times one August 2024 morning was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison.
According to the Department of Justice, Joseph Anthony Jimenez used a “Glock switch” conversation device that allowed him to fire that pistol like a “fully automatic weapon.” Now 20 years old, he was indicted on charges of possession of a machine gun and possession of an unregistered firearm.
Federal officials say he pleaded guilty to both charges.
No none was hurt in the two rounds of shooting that prompted investigations on Aug. 17, 2024, outside Lackland AFB in southwest San Antonio. Additional security was added to the perimeter gate when a service member reported “fired rounds go past them” around 2:15 a.m. that day. A couple hours later, according to San Antonio police, a sedan pulled up near the same gate and someone inside fired shots at base personnel.”
Multiple members of Air Force security returned fire at the car before it fled the scene.
“This individual set an example of what not to do, and he should feel fortunate that the consequences of his actions were not far worse, even deadly,” said Justin Simmons, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, in a press release.
It wasn’t until nearly two weeks after the Lackland shootings that authorities made arrests in the case, thanks to ballistic evidence recovered from a different shooting scene police also responded to on Aug. 17, 2024. In that incident, Jimenez allegedly shot a man who was holding his child during a birthday party along Marbach Oaks, just a few miles away from the air force base.
Shell casings recovered from the scene matched those from the shooting incident outside Lackland AFB, according to arrest records. Sheriff Javier Salazar at the time said Jimenez later admitted to being involved in the Lackland attack.
According to court records, Jimenez was indicted on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and deadly conduct in connection with the later shooting at the party. It’s unclear how the federal sentencing impacts his case in Bexar County.