click to enlarge San Antonio Police Department
(L-R) Manuel Martinez III and Rene Garcia
San Antonio police have arrested two men in connection with the death of an elderly man who was shot in the face at a local gas station last month.
In the early morning of July 26, police allege that the suspects — Manuel Martinez III and Rene Garcia — walked up to 77-year-old Jose Lozano Rodriguez as he was pumping gas at an Exxon off Fair Avenue and I-37. When police responded to the scene, Rodriguez was dead. He had been shot multiple times,
including in the face.
Rodriguez's death has been ruled a homicide. Police say the violence was
part of an attempted robbery, though the two suspects reportedly didn't take anything from Rodriguez's body or vehicle.
Police were able to
identify the suspects after reviewing surveillance footage from the gas station and surrounding buildings, according to KSAT. The footage also showed the men being dropped off down the block. Police
interviewed the owner of the vehicle and another person in the car at the time of the shooting, though it's unclear whether others will face charges for the crime.
Martinez, 25, and Garcia, 24, now face capital murder charges. If convicted, the pair could
face life in prison or the death penalty.
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