Police in Texas have named Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja as the suspect arrested and charged over the murder of King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation actor Jonathan Joss.
However, questions remain over the motivation for his killing. His husband put out a statement saying that Joss was killed in a homophobic attack after years of threats and an arson attack on their home. San Antonio police reacted to the statement, saying they had come across no evidence so far to suggest the shooting was a hate crime.
Joss, who voiced John Redcorn on the animated series and Chief Ken Hotate in the Amy Poehler-led sitcom, died at the age of 59 after being shot multiple times.
The shooting occurred outside his home in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday after a dispute with a neighbor, believed to be Ceja.
TMZ reports that the actor’s home burned down in February, killing his three dogs. Joss apparently returned to the property on Sunday in order to collect a victim’s fire fund check. The site says that when he arrived at the property, Joss saw the charred remains of one of his dogs, which provoked him. He began yelling at neighbors, including Ceja, who allegedly drove by and shot him before fleeing by car.
Joss was pronounced dead on the scene when paramedics arrived.
Ceja was arrested just a block away from the incident and has been charged with felony first-degree murder. His bond was set at $200K and his first court date is scheduled for August.
It has emerged that two days before the shooting, Joss was escorted out by security from a King of the Hill event in San Antonio, reports People.
During the event, a witness stated that Joss approached a microphone that had been set up for a question-and-answer session, although it had not yet begun. That’s when security guards went to him.
“It seemed he did get a little emotional while he spoke, but mostly he was calm and he just needed to say his piece,” a witness said.
A video circulated on social media shows Joss speaking to the crowd.
“I’m an actor. I see a mic, I use it. I see a wrong, I make it right. I take a breath. I want to breathe,” he says in the clip.
Joss went on to tell the crowd that his home burned down in February. He claimed that he had been the victim of a hate crime.”
“As Joss moved away from the mic to go back to his seat, that's when security told him he had to leave and he exited the theater calmly and cooperatively,” the witness said.
The panel went on as usual in the aftermath.
The show’s creators, Greg Daniels and Mike Judge, both witnessed his removal.
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Meanwhile, a neighbor said that he had just moments before Sunday’s shooting outside of his former home.
“We passed by him, and we saw him. He was a little loud. I don’t know who he was talking to in the vehicle, but he was waving his hands,” the witness told NBC San Antonio.
The neighbor went on to describe Joss as being “a little quirky.”
“[He] did some things out of the ordinary that many people may see as not being normal. If we were driving by his home, he would come out into the street and literally try to stop you. He would yell. I don’t know if he felt in his mind that, that area was his and no one had the right to go through it.”
Other neighbors reported ongoing tension involving Joss.
“He would argue with different people. It could be over dogs. It could be over trash,” that neighbor told KSAT.
A different neighbor said that she witnessed Joss arguing with neighbors on their street. “We would see him down the street yelling, ranting and raving. Other times, he could be really sweet.”
The station reports that several neighbors said that Joss was extremely protective of his property in the aftermath of the fire.
In an interview with My San Antonio, a neighbor said Joss once claimed that “he was God” and that the police had been called in the past over his behavior.
Shortly after the shooting, Joss’s husbandTristan Kern de Gonzales posted a statement to the actor’s Facebook page claiming the shooting was a homophobic hate crime.
Gonzales said he and Joss were greeted by a disturbing sight when they arrived at the property, which he said had been “burned down after two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire”. He said they had reported these threats “multiple times.”
“When we returned to the site to check our mail we discovered the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view. This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw,” Gonzales wrote.
That’s when, according to Gonzales, a man approached the two and “started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired.”
“Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life,” Gonzales continued.
Gonzales said he and Joss “were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic.”
“He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other,” Gonzales continued. “I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved.”
Gonzales noted he and Joss were married just a few months ago on Valentine’s Day and were making plans for the future, rebuilding what they lost in the fire.
He said their home “was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire. We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done.”
Gonzales concluded his statement by vowing to “protect what [Joss] built” going forward.
However, several hours after the statement, San Antonio Police Department tweeted: “SAPD Homicide is currently investigating the murder of Mr. Jonathan Joss. Despite online claims of this being a hate crime, currently the investigation has found no evidence to indicate that the Mr. Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation.
“SAPD investigators handle these allegations very seriously and have thoroughly reviewed all available information. Should any new evidence come to light, the suspect will be charged accordingly.”
According to a GoFundMe started on his behalf after the fire, Joss lost his childhood home and possessions, as well as his three dogs, in the blaze.
“This wasn't just any home – it was the house his father built for his mother in 1957, filled with a lifetime of memories,” the GoFundMe description read in part.
Court records did not list an attorney for the suspect, the Washington Post reported, while police said the investigation into the actor’s death was ongoing.
