SAN ANTONIO – The U.S. Marshals Service announced the arrest of a man wanted in connection with the murder of a 77-year-old man in July 2019.
The agency said Joe Michael Rubio, 24, was taken into custody on March 14 by U.S. Marshals and officers from La Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
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Authorities said Rubio was detained, deported and placed in U.S. Marshal’s custody in Laredo.
According to Bexar County court records, Rubio has been charged in connection with the murder of 77-year-old Jose Rodriguez. He was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention just after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Rodriguez was shot three times, including once in the face, at approximately 1 a.m. on July 26, 2019, at a gas station in the 400 block of Fair Avenue, which is located near Interstate 37.
First responders pronounced Rodriguez dead at the scene.
In 2019, San Antonio police arrested two suspects — Manuel Lopez Martinez III and Rene Guillermo Garcia — in connection with Rodriguez’s death. On Aug. 4, 2019, Martinez (who was 25 years old at the time) and Garcia (who was 24 years old at the time) were both booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on capital murder charges.
However, according to Bexar County court and jail records, Martinez and Garcia’s capital murder cases were dismissed. Martinez was released from custody on Oct. 30, 2019; Garcia was released from jail on Oct. 31, 2019.
A third suspect, Bryan Bautista, was arrested in connection with Rodriguez’s murder on Oct. 28, 2019. While it was initially unclear which charges, if any, Bautista would face, jail records indicate he was charged with aggravated robbery.
Bautista, who was 20 years old at the time of the incident, remained at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center until he bonded out of custody on July 10, 2020. According to court documents, in 2022, a judge granted Bautista deferred adjudication on the aggravated robbery charge.
Court records show Rubio attended a Wednesday morning hearing on the murder charge in Bexar County, but he is facing additional charges in cases unrelated to Rodriguez’s murder.
Among those charges, records show, are two aggravated kidnapping counts stemming from a September 2023 incident. Both kidnapping charges are considered first-degree felonies.
Rubio is also facing an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge in an incident that occurred six days before Rodriguez was shot and killed. In the July 20, 2019, incident, Rubio, who was 18 years old at the time, was one of two suspects arrested in connection with a triple shooting in the 100 block of Tulipan Walk Street.
Bexar County records show he was also booked Wednesday on three other charges: evading arrest, unlawful carry of a weapon and marijuana possession.
In all, a Bexar County judge set Rubio’s combined bond charges at $504,800, court records indicate.
“Through strong international partnerships, the U.S. Marshals Service collaborates with law enforcement agencies in Mexico and beyond to facilitate the apprehension of fugitives and uphold justice,” former Bexar County sheriff and U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas Susan Pamerleau said in a news release. “These cooperative efforts play a vital role in enhancing public safety and ensuring that fugitives are held accountable.”
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