Isaiah Perales, 22, was placed at the scene of the May 8 shooting through digital evidence, authorities said. The sheriff promised more arrests were on the way.
SAN ANTONIO — A 22-year-old man arrested for alleged auto crimes earlier this month has now become the first person charged in a deadly May attack on a Bexar County home that left a 4-year-old girl dead.
Isaiah Perales faces a litany of charges in connection with the May 8 shooting, including capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Sheriff Javier Salazar said Perales is one of the people who could be seen in dramatic surveillance video which showed two masked gunman exiting a stolen car, walking up to a home in the 6700 block of Windsor Hollow Drive while the sun was still up and firing dozens of rounds at the home while a family was inside.
MaryAnn Marble died of her injuries at the scene.
Salazar said he was confident more arrests would follow as a multi-unit task force continues to investigate the shooting.
“This is the first big domino,” Salazar said about Perales’ arrest, which happened Wednesday in southeast Bexar County. “Those other dominos can decide to come in on their own volition. If they want to bring an attorney, that’d be fine. But if we have to bring a SWAT team to your house, the time to talk is over.”
According to the sheriff, investigators were able to digitally retrace Perales’ steps via his phone’s location, which placed him “in very close proximity” to Windsor Hollow Drive. The phone also led authorities to Calaveras Lake, where a dive team this week found a Draco-style gun.
Salazar says they could now say for certain that weapon was used in the May shooting.
Perales was one of four people arrested in the aftermath of Oct. 10 raids at multiple Bexar County properties as part of an investigation into a car theft operation. According to arrest records in that case, authorities believed some of those newly arrested people, including Perales and Bryan Salazar, were suspects in the Windsor Hollow shooting after tips identified them as such.
The sheriff said investigators found Bryan Salazar had deleted evidence potentially related to Windsor Hollow off his phone when he was pulled over by law enforcement, but that that wasn’t “quite enough” to identify him as the other shooter.
But he expressed confidence Bryan Salazar would eventually also be arrested for the Windsor Hollow attack as investigators continue digging in.
“I suspect the tide is going to continue to change on this case,” Javier Salazar said. “I’m telling you right now: There’s going to be other people going to jail.”
Sheriff Salazar also, for the time, suggested the May attack could have been retaliatory in nature, saying there may have been an “ongoing feud” that resulted in the violence. He said MaryAnn’s father wasn’t cooperating with authorities, adding he believes he “has something to hide.”
“None of us have slept the same since that happened,” the sheriff said. “Just like they want to see those responsible facing prison time, we want to see the same. I’m not going to stop until everybody’s behind bars.”
This is a developing story.