SAN ANTONIO – A jury on Friday found a 19-year-old man not guilty on all charges in connection with the robbery and fatal shooting of a 20-year-old man outside a Northeast Side hookah lounge.
Jury deliberated for nearly five hours before delivering their decision in the capital murder trial of Jonathan Tijerina.
The panel also found Tijerina not guilty on lesser charges of murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and robbery.
Tijerina was one of six men charged in the May 2022 murder and robbery of Takhai Michael. The other defendants have since taken plea deals on lesser charges.
Tijerina’s defense claimed he had no part in the crime despite being at the scene.
In closing arguments Friday morning, the defense said the state didn’t prove its case and had no DNA, fingerprints or credible witnesses to back their claims.
“They have not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Jonathan Tijerina was a party to capital murder,” defense attorney Kelly Pittl said.
The state fired back, saying that because of the law of parties Tijerina was just as responsible as the other men even if he wasn’t the shooter.
“At the end of the day he was old enough to be running around with all these guns, getting into all this stuff and I would say he is old enough to be responsible for it, that’s what the law says,” prosecutor Austin Stout said.
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