TX - Kristian Ray Belmudez, 19, wanted for murders of Gabriel Sanchez and Sanaa McNeil - 3/6/23

[Bishop Black]

SAPD asking for help locating 19-year-old capital murder suspect

San Antonio police are asking the public for help locating a teenager who is wanted on a capital murder charge.

www.ksat.com

Kristian Ray Belmudez, 19, is wanted in connection with the Jan. 16 murders of Gabriel Sanchez and Sanaa McNeil.

 

[Seattle1]

Suspect spent hours with two teens before they were killed

Kristian Belmudez was charged with capital murder in the deaths of Gabriel Sanchez and Sanaa McNeil.

www.expressnews.com

3/14/23

The 19-year-old man accused of killing two fellow 19-year-olds in an East Side motel spent several hours hanging out with the victims before the fatal shooting, court documents show.

Security footage from the Travelodge motel, off Interstate 35, shows that Kristian Ray Belmudez, who was arrested Friday in connection with the killing of Gabriel Sanchez and Sanaa McNeil, was with them for at least three and a half hours before they were gunned down in their motel room, an affidavit supporting Belmudez's arrest said.

Two housekeepers from the Travelodge found Sanchez and McNeil's bodies on Jan. 16. Sanchez had been shot once in the head, and his girlfriend McNeil had been shot multiple times in the head and upper torso.

[..]

The surveillance footage, as described in the arrest affidavit, shows Sanchez escort Belmudez into the motel just after midnight on Jan. 16. About an hour later, Sanchez, McNeil and Belmudez are seen leaving the couple's room.

A witness told police that the trio met him at a QT gas station off Loop 410 because the witness wanted to buy drugs from Sanchez, according to the affidavit.

Belmudez, McNeil and Sanchez arrived back at the Travelodge at 2:15 a.m., carrying drinks and plastic bags filled with items bought at the QT.

At 3:39 a.m., Belmudez was seen on video running from the motel room carrying a handgun in each hand and wearing a backpack. He is seen putting both guns in his jacket pockets as he ran out of the back of the hotel.

 

[Seattle1]

Teen arrested for same crime a week after having 2 capital murder charges dismissed

Kristian Ray Belmudez was rearrested for allegedly fatally shooting two victims in January and the only new evidence police presented to Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales’s office was an interview where Belmudez admitted to being the person seen with the victims on QuikTrip...

www.ksat.com

Updated: June 14, 2023 at 6:09 PM

SAN ANTONIO – A 19-year-old man who had two capital murder charges dismissed last week has been arrested again for the same crime.

Kristian Ray Belmudez was rearrested Wednesday for the Jan. 16 shooting deaths of Gabriel A. Sanchez, 19, and Sanaa Keilani McNeil, 19, just one week after he was released from jail due to a lack of evidence in the case.

The only new evidence police presented to Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales’s office was an interview where Belmudez admitted to being the person seen with the victims on QuikTrip surveillance video footage the night of the shooting.

Sanchez and McNeil, who were in a dating relationship, were found dead on Jan. 17 at a Travelodge in the 3800 block of Interstate 35 North by a housekeeper. Bexar County Medical Examiners determined the victims died from multiple gunshot wounds.

[..]

Belmudez was initially arrested and charged with the capital murder of multiple persons on March 10, however, the charges were dismissed last week and the case was closed on June 7. Belmudez was released from Bexar County Jail on June 8.

Officials with Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales’s office told KSAT 12 that the charges were dismissed because there was insufficient evidence and the case needed further investigation, despite video allegedly showing Belmudez with a gun in each hand leaving the hotel room where the victims were found.

The dismissal, which court records show has been sealed, was received by the courts Wednesday, the same day Belmudez was rearrested.

Belmudez’s arrest warrant affidavit states that the teen was seen on surveillance video walking with Sanchez from the Travelodge parking lot to the room Sanchez was staying in with McNeil just after midnight on Jan. 16.

The three were then seen leaving the hotel around 1:15 a.m.

Police said a witness called several days after the fatal shooting to say he met up with Sanchez at a QuikTrip store in the 2700 block of NE Loop 410 the night of the shooting to buy drugs.

Surveillance cameras from the QuikTrip store showed the victims pull up to the gas station around 1:30 a.m. with a third person identified as Belmudez clearly visible in the back seat.

Belmudez is wearing the same clothes at the QuikTrip store that he is seen wearing in the surveillance video at the Travelodge, investigators said in the affidavit.

Belmudez admitted to police during an interview on Tuesday that he was the one in the QuikTrip video with the victims.

The trio was seen again on Travelodge cameras around 2:15 a.m.

Around 3:40 a.m., Belmudez can be seen running out of the Travelodge wearing the same clothes he had on at QuikTrip. An affidavit states that he had a gun in each hand, which he then put in the pockets of a large white Nike coat he was wearing.

[..]

DA Gonzales issued the following statement on Wednesday evening:

“Further investigation by the San Antonio Police Department has resulted in the re-arrest of Kristian Ray Belmudez, 19, who had previously been charged with capital murder in the deaths of two other 19 year-old San Antonio residents. We express our thanks to the San Antonio Police Department for their continued dedication to this case.

“In accordance with the law, our office will now revisit the capital murder charges against Mr. Belmudez in light of additional details and evidence obtained by SAPD. Upon indictment, our office must then have enough evidence to convict Mr. Belmudez beyond a reasonable doubt.

“The Bexar County Criminal District Attorney’s Office remains committed to ensuring a fair and just legal process for all parties involved. As legal process involving Kristian Ray Belmudez continues, we will work diligently to uphold the principles of justice, maintain the integrity of our criminal justice system, and protect the rights of victims of crime.”

 

[Seattle1]

'My heart dropped': Bexar County DA drops charges against suspect accused of killing teens

Kristian Ray Belmudez was released three months after he was taken into custody.

www.kens5.com

Updated: 5:51 PM CDT June 9, 2023

SAN ANTONIO — A murder suspect was released from jail Thursday morning, one day after the Bexar County district attorney's office dismissed murder charges against him in the case of two teens found dead in a motel this year.

Kristian Ray Belmudez, 19, was arrested in March after police charged him with killing Gabriel Sanchez and his girlfriend, Sanaa McNeil, earlier this year. The bodies of the victims, also both 19 years old, were found at a northeast-side motel. They died from gunshot wounds.

[..]

Investigators released a still image of the suspect, identified as Kristian Belmudez.
KENS 5 spoke with Gabriel's mother, Jassidy Sanchez, on March 10. She begged the suspect's family and friends to "turn him in."

With help from the public, he was arrested on March 10.
“Once he was caught, I was like, ‘Thank God,'" said Jassidy. "'Finally, we are getting at least one criminal off the streets.'”

Jassidy’s hope for justice was short-lived, though.

On Wednesday, the capital murder charges were dropped. Belmudez was released Thursday.
"My heart dropped," said Jassidy. "I thought, 'Why, God?' I am appalled by the decision, by the whole justice system. I have to go visit my son at his burial spot when this kid is getting released. Are you kidding me?"

KENS 5 reached out to the Bexar County DA's Office for comment.

"Our office must prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a Bexar County jury that a defendant has committed the crime of which he or she is accused," the DA's office said in a statement. "That is the law. In this instance, a full review of all the evidence currently available to our office showed that the evidence necessary... was incomplete."

The District Attorney also responded to follow up questions about specifically what evidence was lacking with the following statement:

"At this time, the District Attorney's office cannot provide any further details or comments regarding the criminal case involving Kristian Belmudez, as the investigation is still pending. We understand the public's interest in this case and the importance of transparency to the community. However, we must prioritize the integrity of the investigation and respect the legal process."

[..]

A trial could still happen, but the DA's office says it has "asked for additional information and investigation" that must be gathered first.

 

[Seattle1]

Jun 8, 2023
Kristian Ray Belmudez was released from prison three months after he was taken into custody

 

[Seattle1]

Double murder remains unsolved after capital murder charges dropped, suspect released from jail - KTSA

Kristian Ray Belmudez was arrested in March, but he was released from jail after charges were dropped...

www.ktsa.com

 

[Seattle1]

Kristian Ray Belmudez Arrested for Capital Murder

Today, the SAPD Covert Response team and the US Marshall Lone Star Fugitive Task Force arrested Kristian Ray Belmudez without incident.

www.sa.gov

 

[Seattle1]

I'm furious the DA thought it OK to release this double murderer last June on double capital murder charges after reading per link below that he was arrested in 2021 for using a dating app to lure another man out only to pistol whip and rob him! What a bad nuisance -- working his way up to murdering two kids who had been dating since age 14.

Also, it seems to me that this murder suspect wasn't released due to lack of evidence as previously alleged by the DA but probably for poor communication between SAPD and the DA's office. KRB was released at about the 90 day deadline from arrest. However, I can't find whether or not he'd been indicted sometime between March and June 2023 before being released. Still looking for a copy of the AA. MOO

(KRB) was rearrested less than a week earlier and again charged with double murder.

Teen arrested in connection with man getting pistol whipped, robbed during a date

SAN ANTONIO - Officials have put a teenager behind bars linked to another man getting pistol whipped by several other men and robbed during what was supposed to be a date. Based on court records, the victim told police he and another unidentified man met up for a date on Dec. 17. The two agreed...

foxsanantonio.com

 

[Seattle1]

Domestic violence survivor criticizes plea deal that gave attacker no jail time

A domestic abuser with a previous family violence conviction in Bexar County was given five years probation and no jail time as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. Now, the deal is being criticized by the victim in the case.

www.ksat.com

12/12/23

Another previous plea agreement involving a past violent offender has come under scrutiny in Bexar County in recent weeks.

A San Antonio teenager accused of shooting and killing two other teens in an East Side motel room in January had previously been given a plea deal in an aggravated robbery case that shortened how much time he was required to spend in prison, court records show.

Kristian Belmudez, 19, is accused of killing Gabriel A. Sanchez, 19, and Sanaa Keilani McNeil, 19, at a Travelodge in the 3800 block of Interstate 35 North on Jan. 16.

[..]

Texas Department of Criminal Justice records show Belmudez was paroled from state custody on a robbery conviction in May 2022.

A parole warrant was then issued for Belmudez’s re-arrest in late December 2022, just weeks before he was accused of carrying out the fatal shootings.

Belmudez was among a group of people in December 2020 who robbed a man at gunpoint and then fired at his car as he drove away, after the victim was lured to the 800 block of Rita Ave.

The victim, who KSAT is not identifying, believed he was meeting up with someone he had met on an internet dating site, according to a warrant for Belmudez’s arrest.

Belmudez was arrested in early January 2021 and remained in jail awaiting trial.

As part of a plea deal with prosecutors in October 2021, Belmudez was given a reduced charge of robbery in exchange for serving two years in prison.