SAN ANTONIO – Zachary Duncan, 29, the suspect in a Northeast Side murder, had been released from prison on parole in an unrelated case just two weeks before the killing, according to records.
San Antonio police said they believe Duncan shot and killed Pilar Horton-Garcia, 33, on April 30. A passerby later found her body near a set of railroad tracks on a remote stretch of East Evans Road.
Duncan was taken into custody around 1:30 a.m. Friday at a mobile home park on Walzem Road.
Allen Hammons, who lives in the neighborhood, wasn't home at the time but said he heard all about it.
"My wife called and told me that U.S. marshals came to (a nearby) house with their guns drawn and pulled him up out of there, told him he was up under arrest," he said.
In hindsight, Hammons said, it was a scary situation. His wife and children were home alone at the time of the commotion.
However, according to the U.S. marshal's Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, which helped with the arrest, Duncan was taken into custody without incident.
San Antonio police did not disclose a motive for the crime, nor would they say whether Horton-Garcia knew her alleged killer.
In the days following her death, a family friend told KSAT 12 News that Horton-Garcia was a former medic with the U.S. Army, but had fallen on hard times recently.
Records show that Duncan was given a two-year prison sentence last year after a drug-related conviction. He was released on parole in mid-April.
Anthony B. Cantrell, the attorney who represented him in the drug case, declined to comment on his latest arrest. Cantrell said he had not yet been contacted to represent Duncan in the murder case.
Police said their investigation into the murder is continuing.