SAN ANTONIO – A South Side bus stop turned deadly last week after an argument escalated into gunfire, leaving one man dead and another now facing a murder charge.
Police say 58-year-old Richard Cruz Rodriguez shot 33-year-old Thomas Ray Harper on Aug. 27 at a VIA bus stop along Southwest Military Drive. Harper was hit in the chest and rushed to the hospital, where he later died.
Witnesses told investigators that an older gray Nissan Juke pulled up to the bus stop, where Harper and several others were waiting. An argument broke out between Rodriguez, and one of the people at the stop. Harper stepped in, the exchange grew heated, and that’s when witnesses say Rodriguez pulled out a gun and fired a single shot before speeding away.
Detectives later tracked down the vehicle using license plate readers and police video footage, tying it back to Rodriguez and his wife. She was in the car at the time and later told investigators that Harper had thrown a handkerchief at Rodriguez before the shooting.
While she was initially considered a suspect, police said she was not involved.
Rodriguez was arrested on Tuesday at a home on East Drexel Avenue. He remains in the Bexar County Jail on a murder charge.