SAN ANTONIO — A man has been arrested after allegedly murdering his friend on the southwest side last August, according to court documents, and revealing the crime to a woman he went on a date with months later.
Jesus Reyes Tamez was found shot dead on the side of a southwest-Bexar County road on the morning of Aug. 16, 2023. Officials said at the time that witnesses driving by saw a truck on the side of the road with a man slumped over inside. They reported seeing the truck in the same spot the night before, at about 11 p.m.
When authorities arrived at the scene, they found Tamez, a 47-year-old Mexican man, dead from gunshot wounds to the head, according to the county medical examiner.
Luis Fernando Barron Gonzalez, 28, was arrested Monday and faces murder charges, more than a year after the discovery. An affidavit obtained by KENS 5 says Gonzalez and Tamez were friends, co-workers and roommates.
The affidavit reveals that Gonzalez, the suspect, initially told authorities he left his residence the night of the murder to get fuel for the generator that powers their home. He said he ran out of fuel for his truck and the gas container's spout was too short to reach the fuel tank.
"The defendant contacted the victim for assistance," the affidavit reads, before adding Gonzalez "said the victim never arrived."
Surveillance video showed Gonzalez putting fuel in a fuel can at a QuickTrip on Old Pearsall Road at about 9:36 p.m. Gonzalez then left the gas station in a maroon Ford truck. At about 9:44 p.m., Gonzalez called Tamez and allegedly told him he had ran out of fuel. Investigators followed up by obtaining a warrant for cell phone records.
Those records show that at about 9:46 p.m. on Aug. 15, 2023, Tamez called his brother telling him he was going to help Gonzalez. Two minutes later, he called Gonzalez, and they were on the phone for more than six minutes.
Tamez didn't contact anyone else after that call, according to the affidavit.
At about 9:58 p.m., Gonzalez called the ex-wife of Tamez. He sent multiple texts to Tamez himself in the next half-hour, and at 10:22 p.m. sent a pin location showing where he was located. The last text between the two was at about 10:36 p.m.
According to records, Gonzalez told investigators Tamez never showed up and that he "had to spill the fuel into the truck's gas tank to get enough to make it home." But Gonzalez's phone data showed him traveling north around 10:20 p.m. away from the generator he was allegedly going to get fuel, which police said contradicted his statement.
In February, a witness told investigators she worked with Gonzalez and had gone on a date with him. On the date, Gonzalez allegedly told the witness he killed another person and named them by his nickname. She said he told her he set the victim up by telling him he ran out of gas, adding he killed Tamez because he was going to repossess a truck the suspect had bought from the victim and had not paid for, according to records.
She also said he took tools from the victim. Investigators later found out that Gonzalez pawned nine tools off the day after Tamez's death for $1,080. Tamez's family noted that those tools were missing from his home after his death.
Records show investigators also obtained a contract showing Gonzalez had bought a truck from Tamez in 2022, "agreeing to make monthly payments" and that it would be repossessed if three payments were missed.
