SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE -- The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office has filed a motion to revoke Cantu’s community supervision, following his arrest Friday on 2024 assault allegations.
A bench warrant has been issued for Cantu, who will now have to appear before Judge Stephanie Boyd in a 2024 evading arrest case.
Cantu was previously granted seven years of deferred adjudication in the case.
KSAT could find no record that a court date has been set for the motion to revoke community supervision hearing.
Cantu remained in the Bexar County Jail as of Tuesday afternoon, jail officials confirmed to KSAT.
ORIGINAL STORY -- Erik Cantu, who survived a 2022 shooting by a former San Antonio police officer, was arrested again on an assault charge stemming from a 2024 incident.
Cantu, 20, was taken into custody on Friday and charged with assault causing bodily injury, charging records show.
An arrest warrant affidavit states Cantu threw a woman to the ground, stomped on her head, and punched and kicked her in the early hours of Sept. 28, 2024, at a gas station on the South Side.
A warrant for his arrest in the case wasn’t issued until Thursday, Sept. 18.
KSAT asked the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office and SAPD why it took nearly a full year to issue a warrant for Cantu’s arrest. SAPD did not respond and a spokesperson for the DA’s office declined to comment.
Cantu was 17 years old when he was hospitalized for nearly two months after being shot multiple times in a McDonald’s parking lot on Blanco Road by former SAPD officer James Brennand in October 2022.
‘I’m Erik Cantu, I’m Erik Cantu. Look me up on Safari’
An arrest warrant affidavit states that a young woman had to be taken to the hospital for injuries she suffered in the 2024 assault.
A witness told police that she and the woman were at a party at a house on the South Side on Sept. 28, 2024, when they heard gunshots.
When they tried to leave, Cantu approached the woman and tried to convince her to get into his Dodge Charger, the affidavit states.
The friend told Cantu to leave her alone, but Cantu “kept insisting” the woman get inside the Charger, the affidavit states. The woman later told police that Cantu “kept insisting that she knew him and that he would take her home.”
He repeated, “I’m Erik Cantu, I’m Erik Cantu. Look me up on Safari,” the affidavit states.
Cantu put the woman in the Charger and drove off.
At 3:15 a.m., an officer was dispatched to a gas station at Loop 410 and Roosevelt Avenue.
Police said the woman had been assaulted and was unconscious, bleeding and struggling to breathe. She was taken to the hospital.
The officer spoke with two witnesses who said they saw Cantu grab the woman by her hair and pull her out of the Charger, the affidavit states.
The witnesses said they saw him push her to the ground, stomp on her head and kick and punch the woman, according to SAPD. She suffered a cut to the back of her head.
When they tried to get him to stop, they said, he got into the Charger and “began driving recklessly before finally driving away.”
An employee at the gas station told police Cantu had entered the store to use the restroom and pay for gas and appeared intoxicated. The employee said they saw Cantu start to fight with the woman, the affidavit states.
The employee said they were concerned Cantu was going to run over the woman.
The affidavit states the incident was captured on video provided by witnesses.
Cantu was on probation at the time of the assault
In September 2024, Cantu pleaded no contest in court to resolve a pair of felony evading arrest charges. Two days later, however, he was accused of skipping a court-ordered drug screening.
In October 2024, Cantu again skipped a drug screening and was seen driving a motor vehicle, violations of his probation.
A warrant was issued for his re-arrest, and he was taken back into custody that November.
In December 2024, Cantu was transferred to a therapeutic sanctions facility after a judge ruled he violated his probation. He completed the program earlier this year.
As part of the new conditions, he was barred from driving for the remainder of his probation and must wear a GPS monitor.
Cantu was previously granted seven years of deferred adjudication in September 2024, following multiple evading arrest charges. The terms of his probation explicitly barred him from driving for at least two years.
>> Erik Cantu re-arrested, accused of skipping drug tests, driving on suspended license
Judge Stephanie Boyd, who presided over Cantu’s hearing in December 2024, expressed frustration with Cantu’s actions.
“It is very clear that I told him he was not allowed to drive,” Boyd said during the proceeding.
It was unclear Monday if Cantu’s most recent arrest will force him to return to court in his evading cases.
A supplemental report was submitted in the cases on Sept. 17, a day before the assault warrant was issued for his arrest, court records show.
Cantu’s attorney argued that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stemming from the 2022 shooting has affected his decision-making.
Brennand’s attorney Nico LaHood said that Cantu’s arrest is “in line with a pattern of lawless behavior that Mr. Cantu continues to exhibit.”
LaHood said that Cantu’s recent arrests are something a jury needs to consider in Brennand’s trial.
Brennand’s tentative trial date has been set for Oct. 17, when jury selection will begin. Testimony is expected to start on Oct. 20.
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