Category: San Antonio News

This story is part of a KSAT 12 Defenders investigation into the use of confidential informants by law enforcement. The one-hour special report airs on KSAT 12 on Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. Find more here.

For years, you’ve seen them in movies and TV, often depicted as a kind-of-junior, unofficial police agent, risking their lives to pass on vital information to officers to help make the “big bust.”

But what, in reality, is a confidential informant?

There are actually several types of informants, all of them passing on information to local and federal police and prosecutors:

1) The accused

The first type of criminal informant (CI) are people who were caught committing a crime and are offered a deal by either police officers or attorneys.

“Work for us and any possible charges for your crime will either never be filed or they will be dismissed once we are satisfied with the number of cases you bring in.”

In addition, this type of informant often receives a fee for their work, which can be based on the monetary amount of any illegal drugs confiscated, or on his or her success with bringing in usable tips.

2) The convicted

The second type of CI is a jailhouse informant.

Once again, the motive or reward is a reduction of the degree of criminal charge either pending against them or a reduction in their current adjudicated sentence.

The information provided by this type is often an account of a “confession” by a cellmate awaiting trial for a crime. They have been key in a number of murder cases where the cellmate recounted how they “did it.”

So-called jailhouse “snitches” sometimes also provide information on crimes that their associates have committed outside the jail or prison, again as a tool to barter with prosecutors, or sometimes it is because they believe they might be eligible for any possible reward money.

3) The career informant

The third type of CI is the career informant.

This is often someone who might have had a minor record of misdemeanor crimes in the past or some low-level drug crimes, but they have since gone straight.

However, their past record and perhaps any connections they may have retained gives them the street credibility to pierce certain social circles associated with criminal activity or drug use and trafficking.

The career informant is essentially an employee of law enforcement and so his motivation is to get paid for his work. Sometimes this can be lucrative. Some career informants have percentage agreements with federal law enforcement agencies in which they will get paid based on the amount of any seizure of goods, drugs, or assets like cash and estates.

WATCH KSAT 12 Feb. 1 at 9 p.m.

You’ll learn more about these types of informants, how they are being used by local law enforcement and what happens when the system doesn’t work as intended in “‘A Necessary Evil’: The Cost of Confidential Informants,” a KSAT 12 Defenders investigation airing on KSAT 12 on Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 9 p.m.

A woman in her 40s is in the hospital in critical condition after being stabbed and beaten by her two children early Wednesday morning, San Antonio police said.

The incident occurred at the Castleridge Apartments in the 8000 block of West Military Drive, not far from Highway 151 and Pinn Road.

According to police, the woman called 911 for help after being stabbed and beaten, possibly with a baseball bat by her two young children.

Police said her 16-year-old son was found with her when officers arrived. Officers searched and later found her 12-year-old child, who had run off.

SAPD said they do not know yet what led up to the stabbing. The woman was conscious, but not able to talk much when she was taken to an area hospital.

SAPD has not been able to question the children much since they’re minors. The investigation is ongoing, police said.

San Antonio firefighters battled a spreading kitchen fire at a home on the city’s Southeast Side late Tuesday night.

The fire was called in around 9:30 p.m. at a home in the 4300 block of Roland Road, not far from Sinclair Road and East Southcross.

Firefighters said when they arrived, they found flames in the kitchen of the home. Fire officials said they had a difficult time at first getting inside the house because it was so packed full of items.

The fire spread from the kitchen down into the basement and into the attic, authorities said. The fire was put out without incident.

The SAFD said no one was inside at the time of the fire. The cause however, is not currently known. Damage is estimated at $50,000.

A fire investigation team has since been called out to determine the exact cause.

Editor’s note: This story was published through a partnership between KSAT and the San Antonio Business Journal.

A Florida-based early childhood education center is expanding to Greater San Antonio, planning to open its first two local franchises in Bulverde, about 23 miles north of downtown San Antonio, and Schertz, about 20 miles northeast of downtown, in the fall.

The Learning Experience — headquartered in Deerfield Beach — announced Monday its coming expansion in a press release, citing an influx of young families to the cities, creating a growing need for childcare options.

Each new location will have capacity for upwards of 180 kids from 6 weeks to 6 years of age with childcare, enrichment programs, and early childhood education.

The newly built centers will be 10,000-square-feet with up to a 5,000-square-foot outdoor playground. Each San Antonio location will employ around 30 staff members.

The company has not announced a specific opening date for each site, nor specific addresses.

Franchisees must possess $150,000 in liquid capital and pay a $60,000 upfront franchise fee and a $30,000 deposit towards site development.

Franchisees should expect a total investment cost including working capital of $550,000 to $750,000.

Click here to read this story and others on San Antonio Business Journal.

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Austin police are searching for a missing 80-year-old woman with a diagnosed cognitive impairment last seen Tuesday morning, according to a Silver Alert from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Officials say Arminda Guerra was last seen at 8:45 a.m. in the 1100 block of Wagon Trail in Austin in a white 2015 Kia Soul with Texas license plate 7KTNK.

Guerra is described as being 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 225 pounds, has gray hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a crème sweater, purple V-neck undershirt, green pants and black house slippers.

Officials believe the woman’s disappearance poses a threat to her health and safety.

Anyone with information regarding the disappearance is asked to call the Austin Police Department at 512-974-6624.

Fatamah Lea had been waiting nearly three years for justice for the murder of her friend Aadam Xirsi. The taxi driver was found shot to death in a Windcrest parking lot in January 2019. In October 2021, police announced the arrest of Baldemar Hinojoza on capital murder charges.

She said Xirsi’s family in his village in Somalia were happy to get the news. “They were feeling that there was going to be some justice. I was happy feeling that there that I don’t have to worry about looking over my shoulder,” she recalls.

But last week, on the 3rd anniversary of his death, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office informed her the case against Hinojoza had been dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

“I felt like the district attorney’s office slapped me in the face and slapped all of the Somali community in the face (with the news),” she explained.

A spokesperson for the DA’s office said the case can be refiled with more evidence.

“The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office reviewed this case and found that at this time there is insufficient evidence to proceed with prosecution. Upon further investigation by the law enforcement agency, this case may be refiled at a later date,” the spokesperson said.

Windcrest police would not comment on the case but said the investigation is ongoing.

Abdula Salah, a friend and former roommate of Xirsi, says there’s a feeling of uncertainty knowing people involved in the murder of his friend are back on the street. “The killer is walking the street and tomorrow they can kill whoever they need,” Salah said.

Xirsi left his village in Somalia to provide for his family, three children, and his village.

“That guy was a happy man, helped other people he liked,” Salah recalls. “Every time he was happy and loving. Anybody that knew Aadam, on the day we went to his grave was crying because they lost a friend.”

Lea has been asking that the district attorney’s office and Windcrest police hold a formal virtual meeting with Xirsi’s family in Somalia. The DA’s office and police did not respond to our questions on if that request would happen.

Pfizer announced Tuesday it is starting trials to create a vaccine specific to the omicron COVID-19 variant. Closer to home, Texas Biomedical Research Institute is developing a treatment that also targets a specific variant.

“They’re specifically targeting the omicron because many people are now becoming infected,” said Dr. Tracey Baas, innovations manager for Texas Biomedical Research Institute and manager of the Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio.

While omicron cases are surging, there is good news. A study released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows cases are not as severe as with previous variants.

In fact, 13% of people infected with omicron are hospitalized compared to 18% with the delta variant.

“The vaccines that are currently out there are protecting people from hospitalization and serious disease,” Dr. Baas said.

Despite that, Pfizer announced today they’ll begin testing a COVID-19 shot targeting the omicron variant in adults.

Baas said it’s a smart move because it allows us to be prepared for what could come next.

“Want to be prepared for what might be coming, even though that doesn’t come to fruition. They want to be prepared for that option if people really need that new dose to combat the omicron,” she said.

Baas said it’s similar to what happens with the flu shot each year. Scientists are constantly trying to prepare for the next strain.

“This is going to be another tool to put in the toolbox and be ready to pull out when you need that,” she said.

Texas Biomed is using that variant-specific mindset to develop a new monoclonal antibody treatment with Aridis Pharmaceuticals.

“There is a new piece in this cocktail that does target the omicron,” Baas said.

Unlike other monoclonal antibody treatments, two of which were limited in use today by the FDA, this new treatment would specifically cover and treat the omicron variant.

“It targets a piece of the virus that the virus cannot really modify because it’s super important to the virus in order to function so it can’t mutate in that area. It has to hold steady,” Baas said.

Right now, that monoclonal antibody treatment is still in the preclinical stage, so Baas isn’t sure when it will be ready for use.

Something else that makes it unique is that it could be self-administered similarly to an inhaler. That would eliminate the need to take up hospital or clinic space, and you wouldn’t need an IV.

OSHA has withdrawn its mandate-or-testing rule for large employers after it was blocked by the Supreme Court. Here’s what businesses need to know and what the future could hold for federal workplace vaccine mandates.

Some consider it just a pastime or a hobby — maybe even an unproductive one. But the notion that playing video games can’t lead to opportunities is starting to become a thing of the past thanks to the rise in popularity of esports.

Competitive video game players now stand to earn huge cash prizes and scholarships. High schools and universities are launching esports programs, and companies are actively scouting esports athletes for jobs in the tech and engineering fields.

In this episode of KSAT Explains, we’re taking a look at what San Antonio is doing to become a big player in this new arena, and the benefits this sport can offer student athletes, professional players and the San Antonio community as a whole.

(Watch the full episode in the video player above.)

What exactly are esports?

Let’s start at the beginning.

Esports stands for “electronic sports.” Electronic as in video games. Esports are essentially just competitive video games.

There are a variety of genres of games included in the esports umbrella: sports, first-person shooter, fighting, just to name a few.

Many of the games played competitively are team-based. And different games have their own distinct leagues with a set number of pro teams and players. Leagues run for a predetermined number of weeks, just like a regular season in the NFL and NBA. Many leagues are international.

Teams or players are ranked based on performance and play each other throughout the season. Eventually, the top teams or layers make it to the playoffs and then the top two teams or players compete in the finals.

The prize pools for these tournaments can be incredibly lucrative. One of the most popular esports games, Dota 2, has its final tournament after a year-long season. The prize pool was just over $40 million in 2021. The winning team ended up taking home more than $18 million to split between five team members.

And you’ve probably heard of a game called Fortnite. Their World Cup Finals had a prize pool of $30 million in 2019.

Of course, these enormous financial returns associated with esports aren’t the norm.

Just like in traditional sports, these high-dollar prizes are extremely competitive and reserved for players who dedicate time and effort into practicing a video game. Getting to that level requires the same kind of commitment that any traditional athlete has to have to get into a professional sports league, like the NBA.

Any gamer can decide to focus on the competitive game of their choice. Once they feel confident enough, they can look up local or regional tournaments to get started in esports.

Many players spend years participating in these smaller tournaments. It’s where they begin to grow their skills. Most of these tournaments charge a small registration fee, which goes into a small prize pool so players can win money as they try to work their way to the top.

Unlike with other sports, there is an interactive livestream element to esports, on streaming platforms like Twitch and Youtube. Many celebrity streamers have made a name for themselves by livestreaming their gameplay for hours at a time, and engaging with viewers. If you’re familiar with esports, you may be familiar with the names of gamers Shroud, Nickmercs and Ninja.

On a larger scale, tournaments can also be streamed. The big ones have production teams dedicated to the production, complete with graphics and commentators – all the elements you would expect from a traditional sports broadcast.

“It’s more than just gaming,” said Chris Saenz, owner of Texas Gaming Empire and the esports director at YMCA of Greater San Antonio. “It’s really a whole industry.”

And even for the majority of us who don’t play video games competitively, there is money to be made. The United States video game industry generates more than $90 billion in economic output every year and Texas generates $4.1 billion annually, according to a 2020 report from the Entertainment Software Association.

The industry doesn’t just include esports – it also includes video game developers and publishers, distributors, video game stores and arcades.

But when we talk specifically about esports, many in the gaming industry believe hosting tournaments can benefit a city’s local economy.

Esports arena coming to San Antonio

San Antonio is one of the growing number of cities that will soon have an esports arena.

Port San Antonio’s Tech Port Center and Arena is expected to be a major competitor for established esports venues. It will be the first in the country built from the ground up, specifically to host and broadcast esports tournaments.

The nearly $70 million center will sit in the heart of the Port SA campus. It will contain a 3,100-seat arena, a food hall and a new home for the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology.

Tech Port’s general manager, Eric Blockie, told KSAT Explains that he has prepared for the center’s opening by visiting other esports arenas around the state and the country.

“They all have great attributes to them, but I think what we do is we bring the next level of it,” Blockie said. “We bring the data. We bring the technology to it. We bring the ability to broadcast, which we’re really excited about.”

The goal is to bring in large events and esports tournaments, spur economic growth and serve the San Antonio community.

But will this $70 million investment be worth it?

While probably too soon for a definitive answer, we reached out to Chino Lee, the chief revenue officer at Esports Stadium Arlington, or ESA, one of the stadiums Blockie recently visited.

There are a couple things Lee said have been key to their success: strong partnerships, support from the City of Arlington and the ability to diversify, making sure they’re not billing themselves as an arena only for competitive gaming. They also host other events, which is something the Tech Port Center and Arena plans to do. Still, Lee told us that about 60% of ESA’s events every year are esports-specific.

Port SA’s decision to invest millions of dollars into an esports arena wasn’t just due to the potential economic impact of events. It’s also because of the talent they hope to attract.

“If you look at our aerospace customers, robotics, cybersecurity, even the military missions they’re all looking at esports and gaming as a new area to find, recruit, retain talent, a way to optimize their operations and virtualize their training,” said Will Garrett, vice president of talent and technology development and integration at Port SA.

And for some, the Tech Port Center represents something else: an opportunity to transform the lives of local students.

“The Tech Port Center, I think, will be an eye-opener for anybody that’s young, because you have everything there for you,” said Sam Elizondo, the center’s director of LAN gaming and esports. “It just gives me hope in a time where there may not be as much, especially for our youth … just great satisfaction to know we’re building something here that I know is going to change lives through a medium that I genuinely and truly love.”

Esports in local schools

Plans for the Tech Port Center include providing developmental programs for both professionals and students, to give them exposure to the gaming world they might not otherwise get.

But even before these plans were set, more local children were getting familiar with esports, because more schools are creating esports teams.

Meet some of the students and instructors involved in the esports programs at St. Mary’s University, University of the Incarnate Word and Jefferson High School by watching the video below.

What do you want us to explains next? Let us know in the prompt box below.

Got a drawer full of old cellphones or a closet cluttered with computers you don’t use any more? There are some easy ways to responsibly get rid of your old electronics and maybe make a little cash.

“There are a lot of different online marketplaces that make is really easy for you to sell your old computers and devices,” said Consumer Reports Tech Editor Yael Grauer. “You might want to do a little bit of research ahead of time to make sure that you’re pricing it appropriately.”

Even if it’s broken, someone may want it. On Ebay, a broken Macbook Pro priced at $350 was getting interest.

If you don’t want the hassle of listing a gadget yourself, there are several online buy-back sites such as BuyBackWorld.com and Gazelle.com. They give you a quote, and when you accept the offer, you ship your devices to them by using a prepaid shipping label.

You can also donate your old tech. Those computers, printers, tablets and phones that are just collecting dust can be valuable to a family that doesn’t have the resources to buy them.

The website Digitunity.org will match you with local prequalified organizations that will give your old computer new life. Just put in your zip code and you’ll see a list of organizations.

Donating your old cell phones or tablets to CellPhonesForSoldiers.com helps them provide international calling cards to troops.

The Hearing Aid Project, hearingaiddonations.org, will refurbish your old hearing aids for low-income people nationwide.

Whatever you do, don’t throw them in the trash. They contain chemicals that may be hazardous to the environment.

Another option is to recycle them. The website Earth911.com will provide a list of local recycling locations.

And, before you get rid of old electronics, be sure to wipe the hard drive.