Category: San Antonio News

Two people are detained after an apartment fire broke out on the Southeast Side on Wednesday afternoon, according to the San Antonio Fire Department.

The fire broke out around 2:40 p.m. in the 6800 block of Pecan Valley Drive.

SAFD Batallion Chief John Castillo said crews arrived and contained the fire to one upstairs unit. A downstairs unit was damaged as well.

Fire crews found drugs inside the upstairs apartment where the fire started. Two people were inside that unit when it ignited.

Castillo said those two people had minor injuries and were treated on the scene. Police then detained them.

Arson investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.

The estimated damage was between $20,000 to $25,000, Castillo said.

Lisa Uresti-Dasher, a Democratic candidate for 285th District Judge, will remain on the primary ballot after a judge in Bexar County on Wednesday denied a request for a temporary injunction.

The virtual hearing, which lasted nearly six hours over two days, was held weeks after Uresti-Dasher’s opponent in the primary, Nadine Nieto, filed a lawsuit seeking to have Uresti-Dasher removed from the ballot.

The suit, filed Dec. 17, accused Uresti-Dasher of having multiple discrepancies on her sworn application for the position, including using two versions of her name: Lisa Uresti-Dasher and Lisa Uresti Dasher, and not providing accurate information about her years of residency in Texas and Bexar County.

Hearing underway to determine fate of Bexar County judicial candidate’s spot in primary

Uresti-Dasher, a local attorney, is the daughter of Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector Albert Uresti and the niece of disgraced former Texas state senator Carlos Uresti, who is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for federal fraud and money laundering convictions.

“I acquired Uresti by law, I acquired Dasher by marriage. Nowhere in the (election) code have I ever seen that you cannot put a hyphen between the two, sir,” said Uresti-Dasher while being questioned by Nieto’s attorney.

When later questioned by her attorney about her name, Uresti-Dasher testified that there has been no confusion on the campaign trail about what her name is.

Uresti-Dasher’s campaign signs, which are already in place throughout much of Bexar County, contain the familiar green and white color scheme used by other members of her family who have run for public office.

“The request today from Mr. Barrett (Nieto’s attorney) is to take Ms. Uresti-Dasher off the ballot. This court is not inclined to do so,” said visiting Judge John Gabriel, while issuing his ruling.

Gabriel agreed to hear the case Tuesday after several other civil court judges recused themselves.

Gabriel also denied an alternate request from the plaintiff to have Uresti-Dasher’s name appear on the ballot without a hyphen. He then wished both candidates good luck and ended the proceeding.

While the first day of the hearing was hampered by multiple technical issues, bad audio and feedback, day two included repeated squabbling by the lead attorneys for both candidates.

At one point, Nieto’s attorney, Roy Barrett, accused Uresti-Dasher’s attorney, Andrew Toscano, of “battering and badgering conduct.”

“I know you don’t want us bothering you. But you’re bothering us, you’re bothering us,” Toscano said to Barrett, before being interrupted by Gabriel.

Toscano added that he believed the questioning of Uresti-Dasher, which stretched well over an hour, was a waste of judicial resources, redundant and irrelevant.

“It’s an attempt from Mr. Barrett to embarrass my client. He knows the press is here,” said Toscano.

Attorneys for Uresti-Dasher previously acknowledged inaccurate information was included on her application for judge, but have pushed back on the characterization that she swore to “false” information.

Toscano released the following statement on behalf of Uresti-Dasher Wednesday afternoon:

“She is disappointed that her opponent has decided to run her campaign at the courthouse rather than among the voters of our county; she feels vindicated that the judge dismissed the claims of the plaintiff without having to mount a defense and looks forward to presenting her candidacy to the Bexar county voters, the true judges of the character and qualifications of its judiciary.”

Nieto issued the following statement Wednesday afternoon:

“I am disappointed about what this decision means for the integrity of Bexar County elections, but I am unshaken as we move forward with this campaign. Over the course of this hearing, it was troubling that Ms. Lisa Uresti Dasher revealed she could not understand the simple question around her residency on the ballot application. She was also confoundingly unable to recall the year of her marriage, her parents’ middle name, and any of her home addresses while residing in Harris County. This certainly makes me question her ability to handle the powers and duties of any Judicial role.”

Early voting for the March 1 primary is scheduled to begin February 14, according to the Texas Secretary of State.

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Two teenagers who were killed in a shooting at a Southeast Side apartment complex have been identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Authorities said Joshua Charles Wilson, 18, and Regina Noella Salazar, 19, were fatally shot Sunday morning at an apartment complex in the 400 block of Montrose.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said that an altercation inside an apartment unit escalated into a shooting.

When officers arrived, they found Wilson and Salazar dead in the apartment.

Another woman was found with a gunshot wound sitting outside an apartment. She told officers she awoke to an argument, heard gunshots, and was then struck by a bullet that went through the wall, according to McManus.

Upon further investigation, officers located a man who was also injured by the gunfire. McManus said that man went to another apartment after the shooting and called the police.

The injured man and woman were taken to the hospital. McManus said they were cooperative at first but were later unwilling to speak with officers.

Police believe the incident was likely drug-related, but it’s unclear who the shooter was or if any rounds were returned.

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A new lead in the Lina Khil investigation has taken to new terrain Wednesday as the FBI’s underwater search and evidence response team and San Antonio police are canvassing a creek on the city’s Northwest Side.

The creek is about a quarter mile long and runs parallel to Huebner Road, roughly two miles from where the 3-year-old girl was last seen on Dec. 20.

Divers on Wednesday were seen navigating murky waters and deploying new technology that can detect debris in mud and salt, combing every inch in the hopes of finding anything that may help determine where she may be.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the dive team is made up of 12 members who are experts in mapping out places like the creek. They will go as far as they need to satisfy the lead they are looking at, McManus said.

SAPD said the area is one that has not been covered until now and said they have been doing a lot of analytical work and comparison between different sources of information. But so far, no lead has led to a recovery.

Lina originally disappeared not far from the Villas Del Cabo apartment complex in the 9400 block of Fredericksburg Road. She was wearing a black jacket, red dress and black shoes the day she was reported missing.

Below is everything we know so far about the missing person case.

SAPD asks for public’s help, tips to aid in search for Lina Khil

San Antonio police are asking for specific people to reach out to its Missing Persons Unit to help aid in the search for Lina.

Any residents who were at the Villas del Cabo Apartment Complex, which is located at 9400 Fredericksburg Road, between 4:30 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 20, are urged to contact SAPD at 210-207-7660 with “actionable tips.”

Also, anyone who spoke with Lina or her family at any time on Dec. 20 is urged to contact police as soon as possible.

“No detail is too small as we continue to search for Lina,” SAPD said in a release.

Although the police presence at the family’s home looked different during the holiday, the department said their resources to aid in the search for Lina are being redirected “to be as proactive as possible.”

Police are treating the disappearance as a missing person case, not an abduction

Though San Antonio police asked the FBI to deploy its Child Abduction Rapid Response Team to aid officers in their search, McManus clarified that investigators do not have any reason to believe Lina was abducted.

“If it were an abduction, we could be looking for an individual or have evidence of a child being abducted,” he said. “Right now, we don’t have any of that. That may change, but right now, it’s still a missing person.”

Another reason they are treating it as a missing person case is that there is not currently a suspect, he said.

SAPD has used canines in the search, which is still contained to the San Antonio area.

But the FBI’s Rapid Response Team has resources that SAPD doesn’t, McManus said.

“If we have video that’s not real clear, they can work on their end to clarify any video footage,” he said. “They have resources, they have boots on the ground, here, that are helping us canvas the area.”

FBI agents have been seen knocking on residents doors, as well as checking in with nearby businesses.

“FBI showed up and they searched my apartment. They looked under the bed, under the couch outside They had this questionnaire. Going through questions, ‘Would you be willing to give a DNA sample if needed?’” said an apartment resident who did not want to be identified.

Officers continued searching areas surrounding the apartment complex, but as time passes, so do their chances of finding Lina.

“The longer the time lapses, the less hopeful we become,” McManus said.

Muslim community, Crime Stoppers offer $150K reward combined for information on Lina

The Islamic Center of San Antonio and Crime Stoppers are offering hefty rewards for information that leads to the arrest of a suspect involved in the disappearance of 3-year-old Lina Khil.

A cash reward was put up by the Islamic Center of San Antonio on Wednesday, Dec. 22. It initially started out as a $10,000 reward before multiple donations were received, totaling $100,000 on Thursday, Dec. 23.

Crime Stoppers also announced late Thursday, Dec. 23 it is also offering a reward of $50,000. Both rewards combined total $150,000 if the tip helps lead authorities to the young girl and an arrest.

Lina and her family are refugees from Afghanistan

Margaret Constantino with the Center for Refugee Services told KSAT that the child’s family is among the Afghanistan refugees in San Antonio.

At least 1,300 people from Afghanistan have come through the Center for Refugee Services for resettling here.

While she knows very little about the family, including when exactly they came to the United States, Constantino said any missing child is everyone’s missing child.

“And like any big family with lots and lots of little kids, all of these children are precious to us,” she said. “Knowing this community, they’re very close-knit. So people will be out there beating the bushes, looking for this child.”

Lina disappeared at a playground

Lina was at a playground at the apartment complex with her mother and other children between 5-6 p.m. on Dec. 20, when her mother left and returned to find her daughter missing, the chief previously said.

It is unclear exactly how long the mother was away, but McManus said she returned a “short time later.” McManus said the girl wasn’t left alone and there were other kids at the playground, which is open within the complex.

The family reported the child missing around 7:15 p.m., and an AMBER Alert was issued.

Officers searched the area by foot and air that day but did not locate her. SAPD continued their search in the week and asked the FBI for assistance.

Officers went door by door to each apartment — there are under 300 units in the complex — to search for Lina.

Officers also searched for video, checked cars and dumpsters, and recorded license plates due to the “suspicious nature of the disappearance,” he added.

“We have every available asset in the police department working on the case right now,” he said, adding that “we are sparing no assets or resources.”

So far, the mother and residents have been cooperative, McManus said.

“Nobody comes and goes without talking to a police officer,” he said.

Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to call SAPD’s missing person unit at 210-207-7660.

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A shortage of childcare workers continue to be an issue nationwide, including in San Antonio. It’s led to a long wait list for after school programs and uncertainty for working parents.

At the YMCA of Greater San Antonio, they have close to 300 kids on the waitlist for their after school program and are looking for childcare workers to join their team.

“The YMCA of Greater San Antonio, serves over 60 elementary schools where we provide after school education, and we’re currently like 40 percent capacity because we have such a staffing shortage,” said Shannon Gowen, senior director of mission advancement and communications for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

The local Y has over 270 children on their after-school waitlist.

Like many businesses across the country, the YMCA of Greater San Antonio is having trouble hiring childcare workers.

“We had to unfortunately let go a lot of staff during COVID when we closed down a lot of our facilities. And then we’ve just had a really hard time being able to bring staff back since then,” Gowen said.

In order to bring the 270 kids back to the after school programs, the YMCA of Greater San Antonio needs 10 to 15 childcare workers.

“A lot of people are, you know, trying to choose, do I want to stay home versus work right now. Some of it due to medical conditions, you know, and COVID,” Gowen said.

Gowen said they have full-time and part-time positions available and offer other incentives.

“We have a $250 sign on bonus. You get a free Y membership for you and your family and if you are a childcare staff, you get free childcare,” Gowen said.

With the rise in COVID cases, Gowen has concerns.

“The last time we saw a rise in cases due to Delta, you know, we had a couple of people leave us,” Gowen said.

As families figure out what to do, Gowen said they hope to fill these positions soon.

“We’re trying to get those kids back into these programs because it’s essential for our working families as parents, you know, they depend on these after school programs for their jobs and livelihoods,” Gowen said.

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