A man accused of fatally shooting a father of two during a road rage incident on the Northwest Side will face another trial after jurors failed to reach a verdict.
Eric Vasquez, 48, is charged with murder in the death of Jay Whitemountain Morales, 41, who died Jan. 21, 2025.
Prosecutors said Vasquez killed Morales in the 6700 block of Spring Hurst Drive while Morales was driving home after picking up medicine for his child. The two men did not know each other, according to San Antonio police.
Vasquez’s first trial ended in a mistrial in May after jurors deliberated for more than six hours without reaching a verdict. Opening statements in his second trial began Tuesday in the 437th District Court, with state District Judge Joel Perez presiding.
Prosecutors said Vasquez angrily chased Morales in his vehicle. They said Morales pulled over at a bus stop to keep Vasquez from following him home. After both men got out of their vehicles, prosecutors said, Vasquez shot Morales as he begged for his life.
Vasquez’s attorney, Michael De Leon, said his client shot Morales in self-defense. De Leon said Morales opened his car’s trunk after pulling over at the bus stop and retrieved one of his two handguns.
De Leon said Morales pointed a gun at Vasquez, prompting him to fire.
“This is a self-defense case; it was immediate and it was necessary,” De Leon said during opening statements. “(Vasquez) had no choice at that point but to act.”
De Leon said Vasquez cooperated with police when they arrived at the scene. Vasquez was allowed to return home but was arrested months later.
Andrew Elijah Torres, a driver who witnessed the shooting, testified about what he saw before Morales was shot. Torres said he could not say definitively whether Morales was holding a gun before the shooting.
“I saw the two gentlemen speaking with their hands and then all of a sudden I saw the person that got shot go around the vehicle and then I saw three shots occur,” Torres said. “I then looked around, like is this really happening?”
Jurors also heard from Lorraine Campos, who lived nearby and witnessed the aftermath of the shooting. Campos said she was driving to buy milk when she saw two men at the bus stop.
“I saw a man holding a gun and another man on the ground that was screaming,” Campos said. “Then the man holding the gun said, ‘Why did you do that? Why did you f-word do that?’”
If convicted, Vasquez could face up to life in prison.