SAN ANTONIO — The family of a 16-year-old who is charged in connection with a downtown murder asked a juvenile judge to release the boy from detention on Monday.
The teen was arrested over the weekend and an arrest affidavit relating to the case lays out the initial allegations prosecutors are using to build their case.
Because of his age, the youngster's name is redacted on the affidavit but the details about the murder of Heidi Silkworth, who died May 26th, are plain.
Detectives say 80-year-old Silkworth was a passenger in a vehicle that was leaving the Alamodome after a high school graduation.
The Police Chief called her an innocent victim in announcing the two arrests.
In addition to the 16-year-old, police also arrested and charged Jacob Anthony Rios, 19, in the attack. Rios is being held under a bond of $120,000.
Online court records indicate that if Rios were able to come up with the bond, he would also have special conditions including full house arrest and no firearms possession.
The court document details how police received multiple calls for gunshots on East Cesar Chavez, as well as a call for a shooting victim at the intersection of Hemisfair Blvd.
Police also located another wounded person at Indianola and Garfield Alley.
The initial claim by the wounded person, Rios, is that he was with another individual when they were approached by a group of people who shot at them 'for no reason.'
Rios was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center for treatment and on the spot, according to the affidavit, four people were interviewed.
Three of the four told police they were the true victims, as Rios and the juvenile had tried to rob them.
According to the affidavit, one of the witnesses admitted to shooting multiple rounds at Rios while he was being robbed. The witness told investigators one of the alleged robbers fired back and detectives found two types of shell casings, which seemed to back up the story being told.
While being interviewed, police said the juvenile defendant admitted to taking property from the group of victims and he said Rios was shot in the confrontation.
Investigators believe Silkworth died as an innocent victim, caught in the crossfire of the robbery attempt.
The affidavit does not clearly lay out who fired the fatal shot, reading "Defendant 1 (Rios) and Defendant 2 (the juvenile) committed the offense of Murder by initiating an aggravated robbery...which resulted in the death (of Silkworth).
In court Monday, the juvenile charged in the case was jittery in his seat while he waited to appear before the judge.
When he approached the bench and he was questioned by Judge William Cruz Shaw, the judge reminded the teen to speak up and speak respectfully, admonishing him to reply with "Yes sir."
Prosecutors told the judge even though this is the first time the teen has been in trouble, being involved in a downtown shootout that killed an innocent woman was serious enough to warrant continued detention.
"A weapon was involved and carelessly fired," the prosecutor told the judge, but defense attorney Monica Guerrero challenged that claim.
"He indicates to me he did not possess a weapon at all," Guerrero said, adding "My client would like to be released on monitor to his parents."
The parents of the teen told the judge they'd like to take him home. The teen's mother told Shaw that until now, her son had been an "A" student and had never been in trouble.
The teen's Dad, speaking softly, told the judge "I feel like I failed as a father."
Shaw told the father "Don't blame yourself. He's old enough to make his own decisions."
When given a chance to speak, the teen defendant told the judge "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and I did not want to be in there," adding "I just wanted to leave. We were about to leave."
"I just really want to go back to school, and start school and get myself together. I was looking for jobs already," the teen told Shaw, adding "I just want to help my family."
Shaw retorted, telling the teen he wouldn't be much help to his family while he's locked up. "Regardless of whether you are an "A" student or not, you have a long road ahead of you."
The teen will remain locked up until at least August 12th, right before school starts for many local districts.
Meanwhile, online court records show Rios is set for a pre-indictment hearing on September 30.
As for the Silkworth family, shortly after the murder they responded to a request for comment by saying they wished no further contact from the media.