Background: News footage of the scene on Oct. 19 where Julio Cesar Martinez Padron was shot (KSAT). Inset: Ramiro Espinoza Jr. (Bexar County Sheriff”s Office).
A Texas man has been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting at a local bar that took the life of another man.
Ramiro Espinoza Jr., 43, was charged with murder after the man he allegedly shot, 59-year-old Julio Cesar Martinez Padron, died of gunshot wounds on Monday. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by local ABC affiliate KSAT, Espinoza and Padron were seen by witnesses having a verbal argument inside a bar on Sunday night.
At around 11 p.m., both men left the bar and walked to their respective vehicles. But as Padron got into his SUV to drive away, Espinoza allegedly went to his vehicle to retrieve a gun.
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The affidavit stated that the two men had to be physically separated during their argument inside the bar before both men left. According to the affidavit, Espinoza, gun in hand, walked up to the window of Padron’s SUV and reportedly said, “I got you now” before allegedly shooting the older man several times in the head. Espinoza then allegedly fled the scene in his vehicle, the license plates for which were caught on a San Antonio Police Department’s ALPR (Automated License Plate Recognition) camera.
When police arrived at the scene, Padron was on the ground next to his SUV, unresponsive. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and succumbed to his injuries the next day.
In addition to having Espinoza’s license plate number, police said witnesses also picked his photo out of a lineup. Another witness provided a partial license plate number for his vehicle.
Espinoza was charged with murder and appeared in court on Tuesday. His bond was set at $250,000 and he remains in custody. He is scheduled for a pre-indictment hearing on Jan. 15, 2026.
