Two new eye witnesses to the February 2014 shooting of Marquise Jones say the man was unarmed.
Deborah Bush, Jones' aunt and family spokeswoman, said one of the witnesses was standing next to San Antonio Police Department Officer Robert Encina when he shot and killed Jones.
"He stated Marquise was running at full speed and definitely did not have a gun, nor did he turn around at anytime," Bush said. "Marquise literally passed a few feet from him."
Encina shot and killed Jones in the drive-thru of a restaurant in Northeast San Antonio after the car he was a passenger in was in a fender bender. Police said Jones got out of the car and brandished a gun. His family has maintained that he was unarmed and was shot in the back while running away from the scene.
Bush says the other new witness to the shooting also claims that Jones did not have a gun.
"The other gentleman was in his vehicle, next to the car that Marquise was in, he stated he and Marquise exchanged looks at each other," Bush said.
Then he saw the commotion between Encina and the driver of the vehicle Jones was in and saw the man get out of the car and run full speed away from the scene. Then he heard the shots and saw Jones fall.
"Marquise never turned around, not once. Then Encina approached him and said 'You saw he had a gun' and he told him that Marquise did not have a gun, and you just shot and killed that man for nothing," Bush said. "Encina then told him to leave, that it was a crime scene. So he did, because he was afraid."
Bush said neither of the two new witnesses knew each other and their statements were almost identical. She did not name either of them.
"They were afraid to come forward in the beginning," Bush said.
Last December, a Bexar County Grand Jury decided that Encina would not face criminal charges. The San Antonio Current filed an open records request for any documents recording how the grand jury voted, but the Bexar County District Attorney's Office said those records don't exist.
Jones' family has also filed a civil lawsuit against Encina, the SAPD and the City.
