Investigators say 25-year-old Wayne Mercado III is facing multiple felony charges tied to a violent convenience store attack and an armed robbery days later.
SAN ANTONIO — A man accused in a string of violent crimes — including a brutal beating and a shooting outside a convenience store — is now behind bars after weeks on the run, according to San Antonio Police.
Investigators say 25-year-old Wayne Mercado III was taken into custody nearly a month after the first attack, which happened on September 23 outside the PikNik convenience store.
According to police, Mercado was caught on surveillance video getting into an argument with a 25-year-old man who had just walked into the store carrying two small children. The victim handed the children to a woman before the confrontation escalated outside in the parking lot.
Detectives say Mercado and another unidentified suspect attacked the victim. Mercado allegedly grabbed a large two-by-four piece of wood and hit the man several times over the head.
The injured victim managed to run to a nearby friend’s apartment for help — but police say Mercado showed up again moments later, this time armed with a shotgun. Mercado allegedly pointed the gun at the victim and fired one round. The victim was not hit, and Mercado fled the scene.
When officers surrounded an apartment complex nearby, they found a shotgun inside but Mercado was nowhere to be found.
Five days later, police say Mercado struck again — this time in a violent armed robbery.
According to an arrest warrant, Mercado and two women, Jeneya Jackson and Linda Garcia, lured another victim to an apartment. Once inside, all three allegedly attacked the woman, beating her with a metal rod, a cooking pan, and a handgun.
When someone tried to intervene, the suspects ran off with the victim’s purse and cellphone.
Nearly a month after the string of attacks, police say a tip led them to an apartment where Mercado and Garcia were hiding out. Officers surrounded the building, and both suspects surrendered peacefully.
Jackson had been arrested a few weeks earlier.
All three are now charged with aggravated robbery. Mercado also faces an additional aggravated assault charge for the earlier shooting outside the PikNik store.