Former Atascosa County Commissioner Tommy Shearrer, 54, found shot to death near Pleasanton

ACSO: Manuel De Los Reyes Galeas, 19, sought as 'person of interest'

PLEASANTON, Texas – A person of interest is sought in the shooting death of former Atascosa County Commissioner Tommy Shearrer (pictured above), Atascosa County sheriff's deputies said.

Sheriff's investigators said Shearrer, 54, was found shot to death in his pickup truck Wednesday morning on Farm Road 3006 near Saint Augustine.

Investigators said they do not have any suspects but have identified a person of interest: 19-year-old Manuel De Los Reyes Galeas (pictured below), who is wanted for questioning as a possible witness to the death.

According to Louis Antu, Bexar County Sheriff's spokesman, De los Reyes Galeas is also wanted in connection with a shooting that occurred earlier Wednesday morning at his girlfriend's house in the 25000 block of Highway 281 in South Bexar County.

Antu said the couple argued, then De los Reyes De los Reyes Galeas allegedly pulled a weapon and fired several shots at his teenaged girlfriend. He said the young woman was not hurt.

Antu said De los Reyes De los Reyes Galeas then sped off. Antu said he quickly lost control of his vehicle overturning it on Highway 281 in Atascosa County.

However, Atascosa County Sheriff's investigators and the Texas Rangers are trying to figure out how and where De los Reyes De los Reyes Galeas then encountered Shearrer. Whatever the relationship, Atascosa officials say De los Reyes Galeas should be considered armed and dangerous.

"It's a great loss for Atascosa County," said Amber Williams Merryman, daughter of long-time Atascosa County Sheriff Tommy Williams. She said Shearrer was her father's nephew and her first cousin. The sheriff was on the scene all day Wednesday.

Merryman said it's been hard on her father, "But he's doing his job to find out who did this to our family and our community."

She said Shearrer leaves behind his wife of more than 25 years, two grown sons and their families. On Friday, Shearrer, as the president of the Texas Weather Modification Association, appeared on ABC's Nightline to talk about cloud-seeding -- chasing storms to artificially prime the clouds to stimulate rain in drought-stricken areas.


IMAGES: Tommy and Sharon Shearrer