SAN ANTONIO – An 18-year-old was arrested and accused of fatally shooting a man and dumping his body on the side of the road in December, according to court records.
Joseph David Melgar-Hernandez has been charged with murder.
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San Antonio police said he shot Damion Jamal Franklin, 29, on Dec. 20 shortly after meeting with him in the 600 block of Porter, near South Gevers Street in the East Side.
Surveillance video showed Franklin arriving at the location in a vehicle just after 1 a.m. and Melgar-Hernandez walking to his vehicle minutes later, an arrest warrant affidavit states. Melgar-Hernandez is then seen entering the vehicle.
At some point, Franklin was shot and left on the access road of State Highway 151 near Callaghan Road. Police responded to the scene and found his body at 1:18 a.m.
The affidavit states that 911 was alerted because Franklin’s phone fell on the ground, activating its crash detection function.
The GPS tracker on Franklin’s vehicle shows the car then stopped at Nopal Street and Kayton Avenue at 1:48 a.m., and then at the 700 block of Westfall Avenue along Interstate 10 at 2 a.m.
The car was abandoned on Westfall Avenue and was later found by police. Officers said the car had a bullet hole in the driver’s side window and apparent blood on the driver’s seat, steering wheel and driver’s side panel.
There were also shell casings inside the victim’s vehicle. The affidavit states it is believed Franklin was shot in the driver’s seat.
A motive for the shooting was not released in the affidavit, but a witness told police they were talking with Franklin at the time of the shooting and heard Franklin pleading for his life.
Investigators added they reviewed cell phone records that showed communication between the victim and the suspect just before 1 a.m. on Dec. 20.
A warrant for his arrest was issued on Wednesday.