San Antonio Police Chief William McManus walked back statements he previously made about his department finding “no evidence whatsoever” that actor Jonathan Joss’ death was a hate crime.
Social media and mainstream media lit up following the death of the “King of the Hill” voice actor on Sunday. At first, news reports were saying that the Texas native was shot following a dispute with his neighbor. Soon after, a man claiming to be Joss’ husband said Joss was really the victim of anti-LGBT bigotry.
While San Antonio police originally ruled out a hate crime, now McManus is walking back those statements. “That was way, way, way premature,” he said during a Thursday press conference. “Shouldn’t have done it. It was way too soon before we had any real information, and I will own that and simply say, again, that we shouldn’t have done that. It was way too early in the process for any statement of that nature to be issued.”
“We understand that many in the LGBTQ+ community are feeling anxious and concerned,” he continued. “A lot of it has to do with that premature statement that we released, and again, I own that, shouldn’t have done it. The loss of Jonathan Joss was tragic and most, most heavily felt by the LGBTQ+ community.”
Just two days earlier on June 3, the SAPD said that they “thoroughly reviewed all available information” and said there was no reason to believe Joss’ death “was related to his sexual orientation.”
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As some people have pointed out, the post from Joss’ alleged husband following the incident is full of extreme, unsubstantiated accusations, including one about angry neighbors burning down their home several months ago. But news reports from the time state that Joss admitted to using a propane heater, which may have caused the fire.
According to a report from local station WFAA, Joss also had a long history of getting into altercations with his neighbors and was reported to have been causing a disturbance on the night he was killed.
“Neighbors [said that Joss] was at the site Sunday night checking his mail, which he did regularly, when something went terribly wrong. A video shared by a neighbor who was present shows a man, who they identified as Joss, pacing up and down the street with a pitchfork and screaming,” the outlet reported.
It went on, “The neighbors say it was common behavior over the years for Joss to scream while carrying weapons, and even though they say they didn’t like it, several neighbors said they were surprised when a man who lives just 50 yards away responded to the situation with a gun around 6 p.m. Sunday.”
One person claiming to be a neighbor of Joss posted on Facebook saying the voice actor “started gun fights constantly” and “constantly threatened his surrounding neighbors.”
Footage of Joss behaving aggressively at an event for the “King of the Hill” revival two days before his death also started circulating online. The voice actor had to be escorted from the premises by security.
Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, 56, who is described as a former neighbor of Joss, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. His is currently under house arrest on $200,000 bond.