SAN ANTONIO — A murder arrest has been made after a body was found with gunshot wounds along Highway 281 in July, and according to records it was another victim who pointed investigators in the right direction after he pretended to be dead.
On July 1, the San Antonio Police Department responded to the 6300 block of U.S. Highway 281, near Friedrich Drive, for reports of gunfire. There, authorities say, officers found 19-year-old Alexis Jose Vegas' body lying face-down in a grassy area next to the highway; he had been shot dead. Police said they also discovered several spent shell casings and black zip ties next to Vegas.
Early in the investigation, arrest records say, several witnesses told police Vegas was kidnapped from his apartment complex. Investigators then were able to gain a few leads on suspects, including a man identified as Eiber Gabriel Sira-Vargas, 29.
At some point in the months since, Sira-Vargas was arrested following a traffic stop after police noticed his vehicle matched the description given to investigators.
Over the course of their investigation, authorities discovered a robbery that left someone shot and hospitalized, just hours before Vegas' body was found.
The robbery victim was initially "not forthcoming" with his answers when interviewed by police, the arrest affidavit says. But he later opened up, telling investigators he was with Vegas when he was killed. According to records, he told officers he and Vegas were at an apartment complex on July 1 when three armed suspects "forcibly entered," tied them up and forced them into a vehicle.
"While in the suspect's vehicle, Witness 1 indicated that the suspect in the front passenger seat aimed a firearm at him throughout the ordeal," the affidavit says. "He was able to describe the location where the suspect vehicle stopped, which matched the scene of the crime."
When they stopped and were told to get out, arrest records say, that armed front-seat passenger also exited and opened fire. The robbery victim told authorities he was shot several times, but pretended to be dead until the suspects left.
The robbery victim was able to identity Sira-Vargas out of a photo lineup. He now faces charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon.
