NEWS — Suspect in fatal shooting claims he was assaulted; police seek more witnesses

By Karen Gleason

The 830 Times

A man arrested and charged with murder and unlawfully carrying a gun after a fatal shooting outside a north Del Rio convenience store Sunday night has claimed he was assaulted, police said.

In an interview with The 830 Times Tuesday, Del Rio Police Department Cpl. Dulce Gonzalez, the police department’s public information officer, said police officers were dispatched to the Stripes convenience store, 2100 Veterans Blvd., at 7:30 p.m. Sunday after the police department received a call about “shots fired” there.

DRPD Capt. Hubert Smith, who heads the police department’s criminal investigations division, said police have interviewed a number of prospective witnesses, but added some people who were at the store when the shooting occurred left before police arrived.

He asked anyone who was at the store at the time of the shooting and who has not spoken to police to call the criminal investigations division at 830-383-5419.

According to a news release issued Monday by the police department, responding officers were informed the shooter was standing next to a white four-door sedan parked outside the store.

The release also noted when patrol officers arrived they found a man, later identified as Jesus Alejandro Padilla, 27, of Del Rio, “sitting on the pavement with his back resting against the (south) wall of the store.”

Padilla was bleeding from his mouth and an ear, the news release stated, and was “unresponsive.”

An emergency medical services team from Val Verde Regional Medical Center arrived outside the convenience store and transported Padilla to the hospital, where he died.

Smith said Justice of the Peace Pct. 3 Pat Cole pronounced Padilla dead at the hospital and ordered an autopsy, which will be performed at the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office in Laredo.

Smith said Padilla was apparently crossing the street toward the convenience store shortly before the incident.

DRPD Detective Joe Castillo, the lead investigator in the case, said Padilla did not go into the store and was alone before the shooting occurred.

Police officers who first arrived outside the convenience store spoke to a group of several men outside the store and asked them who had shot Padilla.

The police department’s news release stated, “A man answered them and said, ‘I shot him’.”

The man claiming responsibility for the shooting was identified as Allan Wayne Stewart, 51, a resident of Del Rio.

The news release said Stewart told officers Padilla had assaulted him, and he shot Padilla in self-defense.

Officers at the scene recovered a 9mm automatic pistol from Stewart’s vehicle, and Smith said one shot had been fired from the gun.

Castillo said the alleged altercation between Stewart and Padilla “is still being investigated.”

The detective said Stewart “had some injuries” when he was detained by officers at the scene and was examined by emergency medical technicians at the scene.

Castillo said Stewart had apparently driven to the store to buy some items and was carrying the pistol with him when he left his vehicle just before the incident occurred.

“He was carrying the firearm illegally on his person, in his back right pocket, unholstered,” Castillo said.

Asked if Stewart and Padilla knew each other prior to the Sunday night incident, Smith said, “Not that we know of.”

Stewart has been charged with the offenses of murder and of unlawfully carrying a weapon.

Castillo explained why Stewart was charged with unlawfully carrying the gun.

“Mr. Stewart had his firearm in his back right pocket. The firearm needs to be holstered, and the reason it needs to be holstered is because there could be a negligence where the firearm could go off. . .There’s a requirement in the law for the weapon to be holstered, and if you don’t have a license to carry, such as concealed (carry) license, the firearm has to be visible to the public. Mr. Stewart was carrying the firearm in his back pocket, so you can see how dangerous that is, unholstered, so anybody who sees that firearm could grab it or it could fall out of his pocket. It’s very dangerous, so that’s why he was charged with that offense,” Castillo said.

Smith said there were a number of people in and around the convenience store when the shooting occurred.

“We took statements from them to see what they saw. We don’t know if they were there when the incident happened, but since they were there when officers arrived, we did take statements from all of them,” Smith said.

“Right now, we’re still just investigating the whole situation and what happened. Unfortunately, an individual was shot, and we offer condolences to the family. The only thing for us is to prepare a case to present to the district attorney so her office can review it and decide on how to proceed,” Smith added.

The captain said Stewart’s claim that he shot Padilla in self-defense would be one of the aspects of the case that will be considered by the district attorney.

“We went with the charges based on the information that we have, and we’re still looking for some other stuff that we’re trying to look at, some areas where we might get some information from,” Smith said.

Castillo said he would also like Del Rioans to be cognizant of gun safety.

“I’m very concerned about that, because of the way (Stewart) was carrying his firearm. A lot of people are under the impression that if you have a gun, you can just carry it however you want, but it’s very important to have your gun in a holster. Owning a firearm is a great deal of responsibility, and I wish the public would be more aware of that,” the detective said.

Smith said again the investigation into the fatal shooting is ongoing.

“Once we get all of our questions answered and gather all the information that we need, we’ll put the case together and forward it to the district attorney and see what she wants to do with it. Other than that, again, condolences to the family of Mr. Padilla,” Smith said.

Smith also thanked deputies with the Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety officers and an off-duty Border Patrol agent, who all assisted the city police officers in guarding the perimeter of the crime scene.

 The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.