A teenager who mocked Texas police to catch him was sentenced to a long prison term after being convicted of murder in a drive-by shooting.
17-year-old Isaac Gonzales and his accomplice fired about a hundred gunshots into a home on Bald Mountain Drive in west Bexar County, killing an innocent person and wounding another, on Oct. 22, 2022. His accomplice was only 14 years old at the time.
Police said that his intended targets lived next door to the home that he fired into. They described the crime scene as appearing like “Swiss cheese” due to all the bullet holes left in cars and homes.
Gonzales had been let out on bond, and he cut off his ankle monitor. He posted a photograph of himself with numerous guns and a message taunting police.
“Tell everyone at the gang unit I said catch me,” he wrote at the time.
Police accepted that challenge and arrested him on Halloween, according to Bexar County Sheriff Salazar.
KENS-TV reported that a judge had been forced to release Gonzales on his own recognizance because the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office neglected to indict him within 90 days.
Gonzales agreed to a plea deal and pled guilty to felony murder and felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
A judge sentenced him to serve 20 years in prison for the assault charge and 40 years for the murder charge to be served concurrently. He also gave Gonzales credit for time served in jail while awaiting trial.
The teen’s attorney told the court that he was ready to admit his actions were wrong and wanted to start to put the incident behind him.
Judge Joel Perez asked Gonzales if he was pleading guilty because he was accepting guilt.
“Yes sir,” he answered quietly.
Here’s a news report about the plea deal:
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