Witness tells of giving police major break in murder probe

Deandre Thompson killed during attempted drug related robbery

SAN ANTONIO – A witness provided police with information that was critical to their investigation into the murder of Deandre Thompson.

Thompson was shot to death by one of two men who burst into his Northeast Side apartment on the night of Oct. 22, 2014.

In the capital murder trial of Demond Franklin, Angel Mendez said that he called police the next day after spotting two suspicious looking men in the parking lot of his apartment. He lived in the same apartment complex as Thompson.

“I didn’t have a good feeling about them being there,” Mendez testified. “It just seemed odd that they were just sitting there out that late at night, and they didn’t look like anyone I’d seen at the apartments either.”

After viewing a photo lineup at police headquarters, Mendez identified Franklin as one of the men he had seen in the parking lot.

On Tuesday, a witness testified that Franklin and another man, Ryan Hardwick, had gone to the apartment to rob Thompson, who, he said, was a drug dealer.

Thompson was shot four times in the chest and neck.

“He basically bled to death from the top two wounds, and then he also had trouble breathing and couldn’t move because of the one that severed his spinal cord,” testified Dr. Jennifer Rulon, the medical examiner.

Though Franklin is on trial for capital murder, the state is not seeking the death penalty.  If he is convicted, he faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Testimony is expected to continue Thursday in Judge Melisa Skinner’s 290th District Court.


About the Author:

Paul Venema is a courthouse reporter for KSAT with more than 25 years experience in the role.