SAN ANTONIO — A 19-year-old man took his own life with a gun at the Bexar County Jail on Sunday afternoon, according to officials.
Jesus Gonzales was in custody after being arrested by the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) on a family violence warrant. Gonzales was at the booking area of the jail, located in the 200 block of North Comal, when he died. Authorities describe it as a secured area of the jail where deputies have only Tasers, not guns.
Sheriff Javier Salazar said it's department policy to strip-search all people in custody for a felony offense at the jail. He said his deputies did not use a body scanner prior to the strip-search.
"This is the first time that I remember that a gun made it this far in," Salazar said.
He said Gonzales was with a detention officer who was asking him to remove his clothing as he checked for weapons. The officer first removed Gonzales' shirt and pants before discovering he had a weapon hidden inside baggy basketball shorts, Salazar said.
Gonzales then used the weapon to kill himself, he said.
Salazar said his deputies did pat down Gonzales prior to the strip-search and did not find the gun.
Instead, he pointed to SAPD's policy of searching suspects for contraband before bringing them to the detention center. That policy states officers should search prisoners for "weapons, dangerous objects, contraband or evidence... as soon as practical after an arrest is made and prior to transport."
"Clearly, a weapon was missed," Salazar said.
The deputy involved in the incident has been with BCSO for less than five years and is now on administrative leave, per department policy, pending an internal investigation.
SAPD's homicide team is investigating the shooting, and the department's Internal Affairs unit will conduct a separate, concurrent investigation, an SAPD spokesperson said.
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