Capital murder trial jury selection beginsFree Access


Noel Wilkerson Holmes

Publisher

More than 800 citizens did their civic duty Tuesday at the Atascosa County Courthouse. Showing up in morning and afternoon shifts, individuals were put through a process that helped whittle down the 800 to 180 who qualified for the next step of individual questioning.  The jury selection is for the capital murder trial of Shawn Ruiz Puente, 30. Puente who is accused of allegedly shooting and killing San Antonio Police Department Officer Robert Deckard has been charged with his death. Puente’s trial is the first since 1996 to carry a possible death penalty in Atascosa County.

The shooting of Officer Deckard happened in December 2013. Deckard was in pursuit of Puente and Jenevieve Ramos during a highway chase from Bexar County that crossed over the Atascosa County line when the officer was shot. After 13 days in the intensive care unit at San Antonio Military Medical Center, Deckard passed away December 2013 at age 31 leaving behind a wife and two young children.

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