by SEAN KIMMONS
The family of a 19-year-old man who was shot to death outside a San Marcos home has begun its own investigation into whether the Nov. 14 shooting was justified.
Elijah Espinoza, of San Marcos, was reportedly shot as many as five times at about 3 a.m. as he tried to enter the back door of a home in the 1300 block of Belmont Drive, police say. Police described Espinoza as an intruder and no charges have been filed against the shooter.
On Dec. 7, Espinoza’s mother, Nelda Jean Cuevas, filed a petition in state district court asking for permission to conduct depositions of the shooter, two women who reside at the home, a San Marcos police detective and a doctor at Central Texas Autopsy.
“He was a teenager who was unarmed and not equipped to commit a burglary,” said attorney Chevo Pastrano, who represents Cuevas. The family has also hired a private investigator, Claude Bookout of Austin.
On high alert
Police believe that the attempted break-in and shooting are likely related to an attack on a female resident at the same home the night before. The father of the female was supposedly guarding the home to deter another break-in.
San Marcos Police Cmdr. Chase Stapp said that an intruder entered the home on Nov. 13 at approximately 5 a.m. and attacked a female resident before fleeing the area on foot. Police were called out but were unable to locate the intruder during their investigation.
Police have not collected the girl’s phone records or computer for evidence, which could show that Espinoza was in contact with her. Family members insist that Espinoza and the girl had mutual friends, Pastrano said.
However, the family has been told by police that the girl indicated that she wasn’t acquainted with Espinoza.
“The point of contention is whether or not they were acquainted,” Pastrano said.
In the petition, Espinoza’s mother also requests police reports, photos, video, 911 recordings, and witness statements related to both incidents, as well as her son’s autopsy report.
Those materials, in addition to new testimony, would help determine whether a claim should be pursued or if litigation should be instituted, the petition states.
“The family is generally dissatisfied not only with the investigation but also with the communication between the family and the police department,” Pastrano said.
He stressed that the family is not on a path of vengeance but rather conducting a second investigation themselves.
“Nobody is accusing anybody of murder or suing anybody,” he said. “We don’t know what happened. The family just wants to figure out what happened to Elijah.”
No charges
San Marcos Police Chief Howard Williams said that his department’s investigation into the shooting is almost wrapped up, with no charges planning to be filed.
“We certainly are not going to file anything but we will send it to the district attorney’s office and let them decide,” Williams said last week.
Investigators had linked both incidents together, although they were unable to prove Espinoza broke in the day before the shooting, Williams said.
“We think we’ve done everything that’s necessary and proper in this investigation,” he said.
A hearing for the depositions request is slated for Jan. 4 at 9 a.m. in 428th District Judge Bill Henry’s court in San Marcos.
Recurring theme
Espinoza is the sixth person shot in San Marcos during home intrusions in the last 14 months. Police have said that all of the previous incidents were related to drugs.
On Sept. 3 last year, two Luling teenagers were killed and a third seriously injured when they were shot by a resident of the Chestnut Street home they tried to rob. A fourth suspect, 17-year-old Frank Castro, of Luling, was caught at the scene and charged with aggravated robbery and, later, with capital murder and murder in his accomplices’ deaths. He remains in jail awaiting his trial which is slated to begin in January, court records state.
Less than two months later, on Oct. 20, a resident of a University Heights apartment survived a gunshot wound by an intruder. Michael Wilson, 23, of Cibolo, and Justin Pickaree, 19, of Austin, are charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest. Wilson is currently in jail; both are awaiting trial.
A day after that, 21-year-old Dennis Andrew Nefedov was shot when he broke into a house on Oscar Smith Drive. He survived the shooting and was charged with burglary of a habitation with intent to commit another felony.
In the Chestnut Street and Oscar Smith Drive cases, residents of the home were later indicted on marijuana or drug-related charges.
