Defenders

Using public documents, well-placed sources and shoe-leather reporting, our investigative team finds out what’s really going on and brings the truth to light. Fair. Exact. Smart.

Reporters Dillon Collier and Tim Gerber think you deserve the truth and that the voiceless should be heard. Want to privately share a tip with the Defenders? Email defenders@ksat.com.

3 days ago

He qualified for a PR bond, but Gov. Abbott’s order kept him in jail. Now he has COVID-19.

A Bexar County Jail inmate who qualified for release without paying bond last month has contracted COVID-19 while still in custody, multiple people familiar with his case...

He fought to get out of jail during the pandemic. Now the real battle begins.

The attorney of a former Bexar County Jail inmate held for months on a technical parole violation has filed a federal lawsuit accusing state officials of violating his cl...

Former owner of east Bexar County mobile home park arrested, accused of diverting $9,000 in water

The former owner of a troubled east Bexar County mobile home park has been arrested after sheriff’s investigators said he installed piping to illegally divert more than $...

San Antonio renters pressured by management, told to vacate during COVID-19 pandemic

More than 7,600 people who have applied for emergency housing assistance through the city’s Neighborhood and Housing Services Department since mid-March.

Deputy accused of unauthorized traffic stops previously suspended for interfering with family violence case

The KSAT 12 Defenders have uncovered the personnel file of a Bexar County deputy accused of making unauthorized traffic stops.

‘This is the worst’: SA family details disputes with renters who can’t be evicted because of COVID-19

In early March, Amber Martinez’s family decided to rent out the small efficiency behind their home on Hermine Boulevard. Nearly two and half months later, the family has ...

Lawsuit accuses Bexar County DA of not paying breath test vendor for months of work

A lawsuit filed in federal court in San Antonio earlier this year accuses Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales and his office of not paying its former vendor for b...

Suspicious overnight fire rekindles concerns about safety of east Bexar County mobile home park

Sources confirm COVID-19 outbreak at second Southeast Side nursing home

UTSA students taking summer classes hit with mandatory fees

Bexar County budget staff questioned judge’s full-time pay in 2019, were instructed to stand down

Inmate contracted COVID-19 at Bexar County Jail, then bonded out. Now what?

Federal lawsuit accuses Bexar County of refusing to pay military services employees overtime

In midst of COVID-19 pandemic, Bexar County budget director resigns

Outbreaks of COVID-19 at jail, nursing home push those ZIP codes to the top of the list

Rifles stored in campus portable stolen from Southside ISD Police

BCSO court employee detained, released after unauthorized traffic stops in decked out SUV

What is contact tracing and why isn’t BCSO releasing results of it in the jail?

Capital murder charge dismissed against man accused in 2013 San Antonio cold case

‘Just a matter of time before people start snapping’: Inmate says spoiled food served at Bexar County Jail

Woman charged in a brutal bat attack was released during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now she’s on the run.

‘I’m angry:’ Second worker at SA nursing home with 15 COVID-19 deaths voices concerns about facility’s response

A second health care worker at Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is now describing what she witnessed inside the long-term care facility in the days leading up ...

San Antonio’s plan to move COVID-19 patients from area nursing homes to 2 facilities slammed by county commissioner

San Antonio city officials on Friday announced a plan to potentially house COVID-19 patients from nursing homes in the region at two long-term care facilities in an effor...

Nursing home therapist warned supervisors of possible COVID-19 exposure 10 days before deadly outbreak, records show

The staff occupational therapist at Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center raised concerns to multiple supervisors that a fellow therapist had continued to work ther...

‘We feel helpless’: Family of COVID-19 patient at nursing home concerned about care he’s receiving after fatal outbreak

The family of a Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center resident who tested positive for COVID-19 last week said they are concerned that he is not receiving proper ca...

Bexar County’s annual budget could be in $100-million hole amid COVID-19 pandemic, memo says

“The situation we currently face is not unlike the Great Recession of 2008, but the impact has been more rapid and it is expected to be far worse,” Bexar County Manager D...

Part-time Bexar County judge handles less than 23% of court’s cases, takes home full-time pay of over $125K a year

A months-long investigation by the KSAT 12 Defenders found a Bexar County justice of the peace collecting a full-time paycheck despite hearing less than 30 percent of cas...

Facility connected to nursing home with deadly COVID-19 outbreak now under investigation in San Antonio

A Metropolitan Health official confirmed to KSAT Friday that the agency is investigating a Live Oak long-term care facility linked to a San Antonio nursing home at the ce...

SAPD Park Police pushed to have in-person hearing even after attorney raised safety concerns, emails show

Supervisors with San Antonio Park Police continued to push for an officer and his attorney to appear in person for an internal affairs hearing this week, even after the a...

Despite COVID-19 pandemic, long lines continue outside downtown opioid treatment clinic

Health officials: Three Bexar County employees now positive for COVID-19

San Antonio lags behind other parts of Texas in what it reports to public on COVID-19

‘It’s very dangerous’: Probationers say they weren’t offered alternative to in-person drug screenings during COVID-19 pandemic

Bexar County Jail population down more than 500 inmates after release of nonviolent offenders

San Antonio official explains rationale behind what it releases to public during COVID-19 pandemic

BCSO corporal charged under state’s new indecent assault law

Bexar County defendants were given a choice to stop in-person drug screenings during COVID-19 pandemic, most declined

Bexar County budget employees slam Calvert, dispute his résumé in audio recordings

San Antonio VA moves away from in-person mental health appointments for vets amid COVID-19 crisis

Among the personal protective items given to some SAPD officers amid COVID-19 crisis: hand sanitizer that expired in 2011

SA attorney faces weapon, burglary charges after incidents outside ex’s work and home

Agencies buying from local riflemaker say they were unaware of owner’s history of threats, violence against SAPD officers

WATCH: ‘Broken Blue’ investigative special digs into police discipline at SAPD

Officers were granted a reinstatement after they were fired in 67.5% of cases in the last decade, according to data obtained by KSAT under public information law.

The Travis County Jail averages fewer than 2 erroneous releases a year. Bexar County had 2 in 13 hours.

Jail inmates are being erroneously released at a far lesser rate in Travis County compared to Bexar County, a months-long investigation from the KSAT 12 Defenders found.

Memo: Bexar County Manager David Smith directed employees to receive absolution

In a memo recently uncovered by the KSAT 12 Defenders Bexar County Manager David Smith directed members of the budget department to receive absolution at Mission San José...

BCSO deputy arrested, accused of sexually assaulting child

A veteran Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputy was arrested Thursday on a felony charge of sexual assault of a child.

Warrant: Arrested Cibolo police officer made pornographic videos of a child

A Cibolo Police Department officer was arrested this week after investigators from multiple states helped secure evidence showing that he created pornographic videos invo...

Controversial school board member faces new legal issues

A local school board member censured twice in for personal legal issues is now facing new troubles.

Ex-SAFD captain pleads guilty to insurance fraud and forgery, avoids jail time

A former San Antonio Fire Department captain pleaded guilty Friday to insurance fraud and forgery after falsely claiming an injury kept him from working even as he contin...

Judge again caught campaigning for daughter in Texas Senate race as questions emerge about her donations

Pictures show Bexar County Justice of the Peace Ciro Rodriguez again campaigning for his daughter, a candidate for the Texas senate, weeks after Rodriguez apologized for ...

Ex-Schertz police corporal secretly recorded teen for over a year, investigators say

A corporal with the Schertz Police Department was terminated the same day on a felony charge of making an invasive visual recording, department officials confirmed Wednes...

SAPD officer suspended for handcuffing woman before allowing her to put on clothing

A San Antonio police officer was suspended in December after handcuffing a woman who was only wearing a towel.

Precinct 2 fires former captain who was indicted alongside Barrientes Vela

Michelle Barrientes Vela’s former captain was fired from the Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office Friday, weeks after he was indicted along with the former constabl...

County budget analyst who filed EEOC complaints against supervisor reassigned amid COVID-19 pandemic

BAMC doctors saved their lives. Now BAMC bills threaten their livelihood.

BCSO asks state for $468K reimbursement after housing inmates meant for state prisons

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