BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Bexar County prosecutors have asked judges and juries to consider hate crime enhancements in four cases since 2001, according to data reviewed by KSAT Investigates.
Many have raised questions and criticized the investigation into “King of the Hill” actor Jonathan Joss’ shooting death.
San Antonio police arrested Joss’ neighbor, Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, and charged him with murder. Alvarez told officers, “I shot him,” immediately after he was taken into custody on Sunday, a police report obtained by KSAT stated.
Joss’ husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, posted on Facebook on Monday and described how he and Joss were approached by a man “yelling violent homophobic slurs” at Joss before firing a weapon.
On Monday, San Antonio police said there was no evidence of a hate crime. During a news conference three days later, SAPD Chief William McManus walked that statement back.
“We (SAPD) don’t charge with (sic) hate crimes,” McManus told reporters on Thursday morning. “We gather the facts and give those facts to the district attorney’s office, and then that hate crime designation is determined at sentencing.”
Hate crime enhancements are rare in Texas despite thousands of reports, data shows
In 2001, the Texas Legislature passed the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Act. The act increased penalties for crimes motivated by a person’s race, color, disability, religion, national origin or ancestry, age, gender or sexual preference.
Between September 2001 and June 2025, Texas Department of Public Safety data reviewed by KSAT Investigates shows state law enforcement agencies received 7,022 reports of hate crimes.
San Antonio police received 481 reports of hate crimes during the same period.
Since September 2001, data from the Texas Judicial Branch shows that prosecutors asked a judge or jury to affirm hate crime findings in 44 cases across the entire state.
Four of those cases are out of Bexar County, with the most recent made in 2006.
Thomas Carroll was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted of arson.
According to a 2005 news release from the civil rights group Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), Carroll targeted several Muslim-owned businesses in San Antonio.
Court records indicate that William Rose was convicted of criminal mischief in 2006. Records from the Texas Judicial Commission show he was found to have committed a hate crime.
DA Joe Gonzales weighs hate crime enhancement
In the case against Alvarez, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales told reporters on Thursday that “it’s too premature” to say if they will seek a hate crime announcement.
Gonzales said Alvarez, who has been charged with first-degree murder, already faces up to life in prison.
“There is no advantage to alleging a hate crime because it’s already at a first degree,” Gonzales said.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
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