Two dead in shooting in San Marcos

Two shooting fatalities occurred after a fight involving several people around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 19 at the intersection of San Antonio Street and Guadalupe Street. Jermiah Jayden Tobias, 19, was taken into custody just after 8 p.m. the same day. Tobias is facing two counts of Capital Murder and one count of Aggravated Assault, according to information provided by the San Marcos Police Department. At a press conference, San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge said that they are still looking for a suspect, Avery Saul Bowman Jr., who will also be charged with Capital Murder.

The shooting followed a fight that began between two men who knew each other. Standridge said a third man, Avery Saul Bowman Jr., joined the fight after stealing a necklace from one of the initial individuals in the fight.\\ “Victim Anthony Barrera was dating a known woman who was still married. The woman’s husband came to the bar and confronted him. This continued outside and onto the sidewalk near the intersection of East San Antonio and Guadalupe streets. Multiple people used their cell phones to record a fist fight that began between victim Anthony Barrera and the husband, who is not charged with a crime and will not be publicly identified at this time,” Standridge said. “During this time and for reasons that must still be investigated, a third person punched victim Anthony Barrera several times in the face. Barrera and the husband continued to fight. However, a fourth person then comes up and rips a necklace off of victim Anthony Barrera. The victim realized this happened and stopped fighting the husband and began fighting this fourth person. We have identified this fourth person and have obtained a Capital Murder warrant for his arrest.”

The suspect who stole the necklace is Bowman, who is still at large. Standridge said Bowman and Barrera fought for less than one minute then a fifth individual, Tobias, got involved and shot a handgun.

“Based on video evidence, we believe this handgun had an altered trigger, thus allowing for automatic gunfire,” Standridge said. “His bond is set at $1,650,000. He had already been out on bond for an Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon charge and Possession of a Controlled Substance, having been released on July 5, 2025.”

According to an SMPD press release, Anthony Barrera, 24, was pronounced deceased at the scene by Hays County Justice of the Peace Jo Anne Prado. Alek Pacheco, 20, was transported to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital in San Marcos where he later died. SMPD later learned of a third victim who suffered a graze wound and was taken to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital by personal vehicle where they were treated and released.

Standridge said Bowman and Tobias “were associates.” Standridge explained that although Bowman was not the shooter, Capital Murder has a “couple of provisions,” which made him eligible for that charge.

A Capital Murder is committed in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, robbery – and that’s where we landed. Because a second suspect, who, remember, is associated with the primary shooter. Because the second suspect reaches into this fight and steals the necklace, that is a robbery in the commission of what turned out to be the murder of two people,” Standridge said. “The second provision of Capital Murder states when murders of more than one person occur in a single incident. That, too, qualifies as Capital Murder.”

Standridge said when SWAT went to the Redwood neighborhood to apprehend Tobias, he was alerted by neighbors that SWAT and police were approaching. Tobias fled on foot and was picked up by a family member. SMPD’s crisis negotiations team contacted the family member and was able to “negotiate his successful surrender at the Hays County Jail.”

While searching residences in Redwood for Tobias, a suspect in a different crime was discovered and apprehended.

“A second arrest was made last night in relation to a previous aggravated robbery that occurred two weeks prior to this shooting,” Standridge said. “A 16 year old was apprehended by one of the SWAT teams after he was found inside one of the residences.”

The police are also looking for a witness; an image was shown of that person holding a phone, presumably recording the incident, at the press conference. They stressed that the individual is not in trouble, but that the camera angle would be optimal in assessing the entire scene.

Anyone with information related to this incident should contact the San Marcos Police Department at 512-7532108.