SAN ANTONIO (TCD) — A 53-year-old man and his 19-year-old son were arrested this week for allegedly playing a role in the shooting deaths of a pregnant teen who was supposed to be induced the day she was reported missing and her boyfriend.
On Wednesday, Jan. 3, the San Antonio Police Department announced Christopher Preciado was taken into custody on a charge of capital murder, while his father, Ramon Preciado, was arrested for abuse of a corpse because he allegedly “helped Christopher move the bodies” after Savanah Soto and Matthew Guerra were killed.
San Antonio Police Sgt. Washington Moscoso said the killings were allegedly the result of a “narcotics-related deal that went bad.”
Eighteen-year-old Soto and 23-year-old Guerra were reported missing Dec. 23 to the Leon Valley Police Department. Her family became concerned because she was past her due date.
The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a CLEAR Alert for Soto, which is when officials believe an “individual is in imminent danger or disappearance is involuntary.” The notice said Soto was driving in a gray Kia Optima.
Police previously released surveillance footage that shows a Kia Optima Guerra and Soto were traveling in stop next to a dark pickup truck. After a few moments, the cars drove away in different directions. The interaction reportedly occurred near where Soto and Guerra’s bodies were found on the 5900 block of Danny Kaye on Dec. 26.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said after the discovery that investigators believed the bodies had been in the car at the address for “possibly three to four days.” He called it a “very, very perplexing crime scene.”
Moscoso said Soto and Guerra were fatally shot Thursday, Dec. 21, just after midnight.
According to the arrest affidavit shared by KSAT-TV, Soto was found shot in the head in the front seat of the car, while Guerra was in the back with a gunshot wound to the head. The affidavit said it appeared that Guerra “had been dragged into the vehicle.”
Investigators spoke with Soto and Guerra’s families and learned Guerra sold drugs. He allegedly communicated with buyers via text and social media, and he would “post money and narcotics on Instagram.” Guerra had reportedly been shot at before.
After obtaining a warrant to search the car, detectives located shell casings in the vehicle but no weapon. Thee was reportedly blood on the outside of the car, which did not match evidence of Guerra “causing harm to the female.”
The affidavit says, “It was believed that the female and male were killed at a different location and the vehicle was driven to the recovered location.”
Soto and Guerra were reportedly already deceased by the time the car was seen in the surveillance footage.
Detectives spoke with Christopher Preciado, who allegedly shared “a version of events that were inconsistent with the evidence collected at the scene.” He reportedly said Guerra “pointed a weapon at him and Christopher was able to manipulate the weapon resulting in the female being shot.”
He allegedly said Guerra pointed the gun at him a second time, and he “manipulated the weapon again resulting in the male victim being shot.”
Additional charges are pending.
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