According to online court records, Jonathan Cruz Castro was out on bond for other felony charges when he was arrested Wednesday for attacking a man at The St. Charles Townhomes near Loop 410 and Harry Wurzbach.
It’s the same townhome complex where Castro used to call home, but the family of the owner tells us they’ve been trying to evict Castro for months. Just last week, it took a judge’s ruling to finally serve the final eviction notice.
“We're at a loss. We're asking for help. We're pleading for help,” said one neighbor who asked that she remain anonymous. “It was a very quiet, complex until he came in.”
Neighbors living at the St. Charles were too afraid to talk to us on camera in fear of retaliation, but say they blame Castro for bringing a string of violence to their otherwise quiet neighborhood.
“He’s known to have guns,” said the neighbor. “And, we know he's incurred violence against women. He had made threats to neighbors.”
We talked to neighbors at the community on Wednesday in the aftermath of a violent attack that happened that morning.
San Antonio Police said they were called out for a Burglary in Progress to North Rue Charles around 7:30 am. The same small street where Castro used to call home.
When officers got there, neighbors said they saw Castro trying to break in unit 2, and then they heard gunshots.
“We kept saying as a neighborhood, something tragic is going to happen,” said a neighbor.
No one was hit with gunfire, but police say a man staying in his old house confronted Castro. That’s when Castro drove his car at the man pinning him between the car and garage.
The victim fought back, hitting Castro’s car with a shovel before running away with an injured leg.
“He was screaming in pain. He said, ‘my leg, my leg,’” said a neighbor.
Police say Castro was arrested later when he returned to the property and charged with aggravated assault.
We did some digging and found this isn’t the first time Castro has been in trouble with police.
In May Castro was accused of theft crime. The victim-- the grandmother of his ex-girlfriend. According to an arrest warrant, Castro broke into the 79-year-old woman’s house while she was in the hospital with Covid, stealing $40,000 worth of valuables.
Castro was later seen pawning the items after he allegedly posted photos of himself on Instagram and Snapchat wearing a long fur coat and jewelry that had been stolen in the burglary.
The victim’s family told us, the elderly woman owns the townhome at The St. Charles where Castro lived.
The victim’s family didn’t want to go on camera either afraid of what would happen if Castro is released from jail again. Neighbors shared the family’s fear.
“He’s been arrested several times, but he bails out every time within days, and then back to terrorizing us again,” said a neighbor.
Fast forward to mid-October when a 30-year-old woman, who we are choosing not to name, told police Castro punched her in the face and assaulted her multiple times over the course of two weeks.
According to an arrest affidavit, the victim had visible injuries, “including bruises on her face, arms, and legs.”
The affidavit goes on to report that the victim of domestic violence was in a relationship with Castro.
And, then another twist in the story—police documents report that the woman’s grandmother was Castro’s landlord, and the victim he robbed back in May.
According to a SAPD report, on October 13, officers went to the house at The St. Charles to serve Castro with two active felony warrants for Harassment and Theft.
Before officers arrived, the ex-girlfriend’s mother contacted police saying they were concerned about her daughter’s welfare because she was in the house with Castro.
According to the police report, when officers got to the house, Castro tried to block the door, and hide the woman upstairs.
Officers finally got Castro give himself up, and found the woman upstairs “visibly shaken” with “obvious signs of physical abuse” including a “severe injury to her left eye.”
Also included in that police report, the officer said that someone had removed the inside door handles “as if to keep someone from being able to leave the house once inside.”
Two weeks later, Castro is out on bond and returned to the townhome where he attacked a man staying at the house.
It’s unclear what his intentions were, but he cut off his ankle monitor before he was arrested.
According to online data with SAPD, officers have been called out to the complex over 50 times in the last eight months.
Now, neighbors hope Castro is finally gone for good.
“There’s been like 24 hours of crime going on in that unit, and we just want it to stop,” said a neighbor.
Castro is now facing a total of five charges, including continuous family violence, violating a protective order in addition to theft, harassment, and aggravated assault.
According to online court records, Castro is now behind bars being held without bond.
Castro is due in court at the end of November.