Man accused in 2016 triple murder heads to trial after years of delays

Jacob Brownson facing life without parole if found guilty

SAN ANTONIO – A man accused in a triple murder in 2016 is finally going to trial this week.

Jacob Brownson is accused of fatally shooting three men in a North Side apartment complex.

Pedro Garcia, 21, Matthew Travis Martinez, 22, and Anthony Rodrigues, 24, were found dead, each with several gunshot wounds on Sept. 27, 2016, at La Paloma Apartments at 102 W. Rampart Drive.

According to a murder warrant, Brownson is accused of killing the three men while his wife and three young children waited in a van outside.

Brownson was in jail on a separate unrelated aggravated assault charge when the capital murder was added to his record.

In March 2018, Brownson made the news again after he and two others escaped the Bexar County Jail. He was only out for 40 minutes before he was rearrested and charged with escape.

In 2021, he was charged while in jail with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and deadly weapon in a penal institute.

Brownson’s capital murder case was delayed a couple of times due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well the District Attorney’s Office having to recuse itself from the case when District Attorney Joe Gonzales took office.

Testimony is expected to begin in the 175th District Court with presiding Judge Catherine Torres-Stahl.

This is a non-death capital murder case, which means the death penalty is not an option. If Brownson is found guilty he would automatically be sentenced to life in prison without parole.


About the Authors

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.

Misael started at KSAT-TV as a photojournalist in 1987.

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