SAN ANTONIO — Three people were arrested Thursday, and one is still being sought, in a Bexar County auto-theft crime ring in which authorities believe stolen cars were then used to nab other vehicles.
But those same suspects, arrest records show, could be connected to the May shooting in a northeast-side neighborhood that left a family home riddled with bullet holes and a young girl dead. No one has been officially arrested in connection to that May 8 incident in the 6700 block of Windsor Hollow Drive, in which two masked gunmen were seen firing dozens of rounds into the home, one of them just steps from the front door.
The 26-page arrest warrant for one of the suspects arrested Thursday has little to do with stealing cars. Instead, it connects him and the other suspects to the capital murder case, including who sheriff's deputies believe are the shooters and the motivation behind the crime.
Sheriff Javier Salazar didn't specifically reference the Windsor Hollow shooting while talking with reporters on Thursday, but he did say investigators were "hoping this leads us to bigger and better things, and that's the indicator right now."
According to arrest records, deputies believe 19-year-old Bryan Salazar and 20-year-old Isaiah Perales, who were taken into custody this week, are the gunmen seen in dramatic home surveillance video of the May shooting. In that footage, two people in masks are seen exiting an Infiniti deputies say was stolen and opening fire on the house.
A 4-year-old girl, Mary Ann Marble, was hit and later died at the hospital. Her parents and two siblings were also seriously hurt. The surveillance footage was released a few weeks later amid the ongoing search for suspects.
Multiple tips came in identifying Bryan Salazar and Perales as the shooters, according to the affidavit. Investigators also identified multiple persons of interest who say the pair planned to shoot up the house in retaliation for the murder of Xavier Perez, someone Bryan Salazar knew who was shot and killed as he was leaving the Brooks Inner City Sports Complex on April 26.
That was less than two weeks before the Windsor Hollow attack. And, detectives went on to write in the arrest warrant, Mary Ann's father was somehow tied to Perez's murder. But he has not been implicated in any crimes as of now.
Perales faces vehicle theft charges after Thursday's sting operation, which unfolded at three spots around Bexar County. Bryan Salazar, meanwhile, faces a charge of tampering with evidence after deputies say he deleted messages on social media, along with emails tying him to the May shooting. Perales also searched the Windsor Hollow home address multiple times in the days before the May attack.
Salazar's girlfriend, 21-year-old Jocelynn Guzman, is facing fraud charges. Deputies say they don't think she had anything to do with the May murder, but knew her boyfriend and friends were involved.
The sheriff on Thursday shared a cryptic message that may be a hint of more to come on the suspects.
"What we're hoping for is that this may blow things wide open on a wider charge," he said.
Authorities are still looking for 18-year-old Ashton Vara Garcia in connection with the car thefts.