Above, flowers and other memorials adorn the patrol car of slain SMPD Officer Justin Putnam.
For the second time in 16 months, a San Marcos Police Officer has been killed in the line of duty while on a call related to domestic violence.
On April 18, 31-year-old Officer Justin Putnam was fatally shot after entering the home where a disturbance had
reportedly occurred. Two other officers, Franco Stewart, 27, and Justin Mueller, 38, were wounded but are expected to recover.
Police have not said how many shots were fired but did say other people in the home were unharmed.
Putnam is only the second officer in the history of the SMPD to die in the line of duty. Kenneth Copeland
was killed while serving a warrant in a family violence case in December 2017.
Interim Police Chief Bob Klett remembered Putham as a young man with a bright future in law enforcement. “We lost a fine young man, faithful officer and friend last night,” he said at a Sunday morning press conference. “Our hearts are heavy as we pray for Justin Putnam’s family and for our two officers fighting for their lives today.”
The three officers were responding to a 911 call placed from the Twin Lakes Apartments on Hunter Road minutes after 6 p.m. A suspect tentatively identified as Alfredo Perez Delacruz, 46, used a rifle to fire on the officers inside
the resident and then fatally shot himself.
Stewart and Mueller were rushed to Ascension Seton Hays in Kyle where both underwent surgery. At the time of the Sunday press conference, both were said to be in critical but stable condition.
After the shooting, Hunter Road was closed to traffic as law enforcement from a dozen agencies swarmed the
scene. The Texas Rangers will be in charge of the investigation, and the city of San Marcos acknowledged
the assistance of Hays County deputies and constables as well as police from Kyle, Buda, Austin, New Braunfels and Texas State University, the Department of Public Safety, San Marcos Park Rangers, the San Marcos Fire Department, EMS and the FBI.
Putnam, whose father is a veteran of the Austin Fire Department, had been on the force for five years. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas State University.
The two wounded officers had been on the force for less than a year. Stewart had only been on the job since December, while Mueller had joined in June 2019.
The man charged with capital murder in the shooting of Copeland in 2017 is still awaiting trial but is scheduled
to appear in court May 18 for pre-trial motions.
A month before Copeland’s shooting, Hays County deputies were ambushed in Wimberley after responding to a bogus call of a break-in at an antique shop. Deputy Benjamin Gieselmann was shot and recovered from his injuries. The suspect in that case was also found dead of injuries believed to be self-inflicted.
