The boy was 12 when a 20-year-old man was fatally shot on San Antonio’s West Side in June 2025.
SAN ANTONIO — A 13-year-old boy accused of capital murder will remain in juvenile detention after a judge declined to release him following his arrest in connection with a fatal West Side shooting last year.
The boy appeared in juvenile court Tuesday for an initial detention hearing in the death of Marcus Rene Nolf Estrada, 20. Authorities say Estrada was shot June 9, 2025, before the vehicle he was driving crashed into a home on Otter Drive. The teenager, whose name has not been made public because he is a juvenile, was 12 when the shooting occurred.
Judge William Cruz Shaw ordered the boy to remain in detention until his next hearing later this month. The teenager sat quietly during the proceeding and became emotional after the judge announced the decision. A probation officer told the court that officials had been unable to notify a family member or guardian about the boy’s arrest and hearing.
The detention decision keeps the teenager in custody as authorities continue investigating a case that remained unresolved for more than a year. San Antonio police said the 13-year-old is the only person arrested so far in connection with Estrada’s death. Police have released little information about what led investigators to the boy.
The shooting was reported at about 8:30 p.m. June 9, 2025, in the 300 block of Otter Drive, near Loop 410 and U.S. Highway 90. Officers arriving at the scene found Estrada in the driver’s seat of a vehicle that had crashed into a house, according to a preliminary police report.
Estrada was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that he died from gunshot wounds and classified his death as a homicide.
Police said at the time of the shooting that three suspects had fled the area on foot. Officers searched for them with assistance from the San Antonio Police Department’s EAGLE helicopter and K9 units but did not locate them that night. Authorities have not publicly explained what role they allege the 13-year-old played in the shooting or whether investigators have identified the other people described in the initial report.
The teenager now faces a capital murder accusation, but the charge remains an allegation and the court has not determined that he committed the offense. His age also limits how much information is publicly available about the proceedings. Juvenile court records related to the case are not open to the public, leaving significant details about the evidence and the prosecution’s allegations undisclosed.
Police said the investigation remains active. No additional arrest has been confirmed, and authorities have not publicly said what caused Estrada’s vehicle to crash into the home or identified who fired the shots that killed him. The boy is expected to remain detained at least until his next juvenile court hearing later in August.
Author note: Last updated August 12, 2026.