{"id":40011,"date":"2025-07-05T05:50:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T05:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/40011\/"},"modified":"2025-07-05T05:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T05:50:19","slug":"what-we-know-about-the-murder-of-las-palapas-founder-in-north-side-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/40011\/","title":{"rendered":"What we know about the murder of Las Palapas\u2019 founder in North Side neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO<\/strong> \u2013 The founder of San Antonio-based Las Palapas restaurants, Edward \u201cRon\u201d Acosta, was fatally stabbed<\/a> on Tuesday at his North Side home by a family member, sources told KSAT. <\/p>\n

Multiple sources familiar with the investigation confirmed that Acosta was the victim. Public records show that Acosta owns the home where the murder happened, and he was the same age as the victim. <\/p>\n

San Antonio police said Acosta was found dead on Tuesday at a home in the 19200 block of Reata Trail in the Stone Oak area. The home is located near Blanco Road outside Loop 1604.<\/p>\n

SAPD Chief William McManus said the department was investigating a \u201chigh-profile\u201d murder. <\/p>\n

McManus said the victim, later identified as Acosta, and a family member, later identified as 39-year-old David Ruiz, were involved in an argument or altercation, which may have led to the stabbing.<\/p>\n

McManus said a housekeeper inside the home called SAPD. An updated statement on the department\u2019s investigation said that the housekeeper told dispatchers that there was \u201cblood all around\u201d the victim.<\/p>\n

Investigators said that the suspect stabbed the victim multiple times and \u201cbled out while lying in the garage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Acosta invited suspected killer to his home, affidavit says<\/p>\n

KSAT Investigates obtained an arrest warrant<\/a> for Acosta\u2019s suspected killer on Tuesday evening. The document identified the suspect as David Ruiz, 39.<\/p>\n

According to the affidavit, Ruiz, who lives in Whittier, California, was driving to San Antonio and contacted Acosta\u2019s son on Monday. The son offered for Ruiz to come and stay with him and his father.<\/p>\n

Later that day, Ruiz called Acosta\u2019s son and told him that he was \u201ctwo hours away\u201d and elected to stay the night at a different, unspecified location, according to documents. <\/p>\n

According to the affidavit, Acosta himself called Ruiz on Tuesday morning and asked Ruiz to come stay at his home. Records reference a \u201cfamily group chat,\u201d indicating Acosta texted the group that Ruiz had officially arrived at his home.<\/p>\n

Acosta also told the group chat about his plan for him and Ruiz to meet up with other relatives at a later time, the affidavit states. <\/p>\n

After the deadly stabbing, SAPD said Acosta\u2019s son identified Ruiz as the suspect in a single-photo lineup. Acosta\u2019s son also gave officers a description of Ruiz\u2019s vehicle.<\/p>\n

Deputies in Kimble County told San Antonio police that they spotted Ruiz in his vehicle \u201ca few hours\u201d after the deadly stabbing. Ruiz has since been detained in Kimble County and formally charged with murder.<\/p>\n

KSAT reached out to Ruiz\u2019s father, who declined an interview, but did say that he is Ron Acosta\u2019s brother-in-law. David Ruiz is Ron Acosta\u2019s nephew. <\/p>\n

Ruiz detained, booked into Kimble County Jail on murder charge <\/p>\n

Following the incident, McManus said Ruiz fled the home but was detained<\/a> around 11 a.m. in Kimble County. <\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, the Kimble County Sheriff\u2019s Office posted a mugshot of Ruiz<\/a>, along with details surrounding his detainment on Facebook. <\/p>\n

KCSO received information that Ruiz was traveling west on Interstate 10 from San Antonio. <\/p>\n

Deputies and officers from the Junction Police Department conducted a traffic stop on Ruiz\u2019s vehicle at a truck stop. He was detained without incident, the post stated.<\/p>\n

Ruiz was later booked into the Kimble County jail on the murder warrant from Bexar County, according to KCSO. <\/p>\n

Kimble County booking photo for David Ruiz (Kimble County Sheriff’s Office)<\/p>\n

As of Thursday afternoon, Ruiz\u2019s name was no longer listed on the Kimble County Jail log. <\/p>\n

A source told KSAT Investigates and jail records also confirmed that Ruiz was officially extradited to Bexar County on Thursday. <\/p>\n

Court records indicate that Ruiz was booked into the Bexar County jail on a $250,000 bond.<\/a> <\/p>\n

If he\u2019s released, Ruiz must inform jail officials where he will be staying under house arrest. In some cases, a family member might rent an apartment or hotel.<\/p>\n

Ruiz was ordered not to possess any firearms and to have no contact with Acosta\u2019s next-of-kin, records show. <\/p>\n

Las Palapas releases statements in remembrance of founder Ron Acosta<\/p>\n

Las Palapas, the restaurant Acosta founded, shared that it was \u201cheartbroken\u201d to learn about his death in a Facebook post Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cRon was a man of deep faith, a generous spirit, and a true community leader,\u201d the company said in the statement. \u201cHis warmth, vision, and work ethic left an undeniable mark on San Antonio.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company shared its condolences with Acosta\u2019s family and loved ones.<\/p>\n

Read the full statement below:<\/p>\n

The CEO of Las Palapas, Wayne Detmar, provided KSAT with a statement regarding Acosta\u2019s death on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am devastated by the news of Ron Acosta\u2019s tragic passing,\u201d Detmar said, in part. \u201cRon wasn\u2019t just the founder of Las Palapas, he was a dear friend, a brother, and a man whose heart was rooted deeply in faith, family and community.\u201d <\/p>\n

The rest of Detmar\u2019s statement can be read in its entirety below: <\/p>\n

\n

He was never one to seek the spotlight, but his kindness, generosity, and unwavering belief in serving others left a mark on everyone who crossed his path. <\/p>\n

Ron should not be remembered as a victim, but as a man who loved the Lord, gave freely to those in need, and built something that brought joy to thousands every single day. Whether it was sharing a meal, lending a hand, or simply offering a smile, Ron lived with purpose and love.<\/p>\n

When I took over Las Palapas five years ago, I did so with great respect for what Ron had built. He laid the foundation, and it is my honor to continue growing what he started. His spirit lives on in every taco served, every guest welcomed, and every community we support. We will carry on his legacy, not just in the business he created, but in how we continue to give back and love our neighbors, just as Ron always did. He will be deeply missed but never forgotten.<\/p>\n

CEO of Las Palapas Wayne Detmar<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Related coverage of this story on KSAT: <\/b><\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 The founder of San Antonio-based Las Palapas restaurants, Edward \u201cRon\u201d Acosta, was fatally stabbed on…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":40012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5133],"tags":[5229,27245,31871,31872,26308,11628,7202,7203,7725,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-40011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-david-ruiz","10":"tag-edward-acosta","11":"tag-ksat-investigates","12":"tag-las-palapas","13":"tag-north-side","14":"tag-san-antonio","15":"tag-sanantonio","16":"tag-sapd","17":"tag-texas","18":"tag-tx","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114799065542942347","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}